Iran

Western Iran
(Chapter)
Edition 6th Edition, August 2012
Pages 68
Page Range 100-167 PDF

Coverage includes: Bazargan, Maku & around, Orumiyeh, Lake Orumiyeh,

Maraqeh & around, Tabriz & around, Jolfa & around, Aras River Valley, Kaleybar &
Babak Castle, Ardabil, Astara & around, Rasht & around, Masuleh, Ramsar, Chalus
& around, Noshahr, Qazvin, Alamut Valley, Soltaniyeh, Zanjan, Takht-e Soleiman,
Sanandaj, Palangan, Howraman, Paveh, Kermanshah, Bisotun, Hamadan, Dorud
& Lake Gahar, The Dorud-Andimeshk Railway, Andimeshk, Shush, Choqa Zanbil &
Haft Tappeh, Shushtar and Ahvaz.

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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
Western Iran
‫ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ ﻏﺮﺑﯽ‬
Tabriz .............................. 84
Kaleybar &
Babak Castle .................. 95
Ardabil ............................ 96
Qazvin ........................... 108
Alamut Valley ................ 112
Soltaniyeh .................... 115
Sanandaj ....................... 119
Howraman .....................123
Bisotun ......................... 128
Hamadan ...................... 128
Shush ........................... 136
Choqa Zanbil .................137
Shushtar ....................... 138
Best Places to Eat When to Go
» Bijan’s (p103)
»Sofrakhane Sonati
Ebrahimabad (p98)
» Haji Dadash (p117)
» Khansalar (p122)
Best Places to
Stay
» Darya Guesthouse (p89)
» Hotel Malek (p107)
» Kadus Hotel (p102)
» Mehran Hotel (p106)
Why Go?
From paddy fields to blizzards to the original Garden of
Eden, this region will shatter your preconceptions of Iran.
Standing at the frontiers with Mesopotamia and Turkey,
western Iran has witnessed many of civilisation’s great em-
pires, with fortunes oscillating between trading glories and
military decimation. The deeply hospitable region lacks the
iconic gem-city sites of central Iran so it’s often skipped by
first-time Western visitors. But that makes it all the more
appealing for those who relish delving a little deeper.
Western Iran is a linguistic and cultural patchwork: Kurds
predominate in Kordistan and Kermanshah provinces; Lors
in Ilam and Lorestan; Arabs inhabit southern Khuzestan;
Talesh and Gilaki are the traditional languages of Gilan (the
southwest Caspian hinterland); and Azaris whose language
is more Turkish than Persian, predominate in the rest of the
northwest. In remote regions, and in Kurdish towns, tradi-
tional dress is still worn.
The craggy peaks of the Zagros from Hamadan northwards
see snow arrive early and leave late (about November to
March), while the sweltering lowlands around Shush begin
to boil in June.
To make the most of western Iran, try visiting for the
spring flower blooms in April/May, or the autumn harvest
of juicy grapes and delicious mulberries in September/early
October.

Bazargan ‫ﺑﺎﺯﺭﮔﺎﻥ‬
% 0462 / POP 10,000 / ELEV 1417M
Car repair yards, shops and nine cheap ho-
tels line Bazargan’s Imam St, a gun-barrel
straight strip fired towards the striking sil-
houette of Mt Ararat.
About 2km short of the immigration
posts, the village ends at the outer border
gate. Here the taxi/savari stand faces the ba-
sic Hotel Jafapoor (%337 2058; Imam St; dm/
tw US$4/6) whose owner is excited to show
101
For internet, try Coffeenet Dade Parda-
zan (Imam St; per hr US$1; h10am-last customer),
almost opposite the Makoo Tourist Inn,
400m west of the main square.
1 Sights
The sad, crumbling remnants of Old Maku’s
former citadel lead up to the Abu Fazl
Mosque and a series of degraded brick for-
tifications cupped beneath an impressively
huge cliff overhang. Fine views justify the
sweaty 25-minute hike on steps and foot-

off his modest English skills and changes
money. Hotel Hamid (%337 2435; Imam St;
tw US$15), 300m further east, is somewhat
better and has bathrooms with squat toilets.
Locals pay US$2 to head on to Maku but
taxis ask way more from foreigners.
WESTERN IR AN B
paths directly north from Chahara Sq.
The celebrated but empty Kola Ferangi
is a century-old mansion with filigree wrap-
around balconies, hidden away in a ruined
garden accessed through the unmarked grey
gates of a clinic on Taleqani St, just north of
Chahara Sq.

S IAGZHATRSG A N
Baqcheh Juq Palace Museum
Maku ‫ﻣﺎﻛﻮ‬ MUSEUM
(%324 3719; admission US$1; h9am-1pm & 3-5pm
% 0462 / POP 39,600 / ELEV 1293M
Tue-Sun) This attractive mansion was origi-
Boxed into a soaring rocky canyon, central
nally built for the sardar (military governor)
Maku has a handful of minor sights and
of Qajar Shah Muzaffar al-Din (r 1896–1907).
makes a sensible base for visiting the old
Eclectically furnished rooms with colourful,
Armenian church of Qareh Kalisa (p78).
quaintly tacky fruit murals are set around a
Long a key fortress guarding the Ottoman-
wonderfully over-the-top mirror-tiled atri-
Persian frontier, Maku was one of many
um. It’s set in a walled orchard at the base
Azerbaijani khanates that gained semi-
of appealing, tree-dappled Baqcheh Juq vil-
independence in the chaotic period follow-
lage whose timeless hay-topped mud houses
ing the death of Nader Shah in 1749. Al-
are backed by a rugged chasm. It’s 2km off
though rejoining Iran in 1829, the khanate
the main Bazargan road, about 7km west
was only finally abolished a century later.
of Chahara Sq from which yellow savaris
Shops and all hotels are within 500m of lit-
charge US$1 one way.
tle Chahara Sq on central Imam St. The bus
terminal is 3km southeast.

CROSSING THE TURKISH BORDER AT BAZARGAN

Travelling solo, crossing here usually takes under an hour. The hill-top immigration
posts (h24hr) are 2km above Bazargan village, US$1 (plus US$1 for bags) by shared
taxi/minibus. The posts are just 600m from Gürbulak in Turkey (no facilities). The
nearest Turkish-side accommodation is 40km east in Doğubayazıt, famous for its 1784
Işak Paşa palace.
Eastbound from Doğubayazıt to Gürbulak take a dolmuş (minibus; 3YTL, 25 minutes,
last service 5pm) from the junction of Ağrı and Sehiltik Sts, 100m east of the Kara-
han Petrol Ofisi station (where Ağrı dolmuşlar wait). That’s about five minutes’ walk
from Doğubayazıt’s little bus terminal and cheap hotels. Westbound buses go from
Doğubayazıt.
Arriving in Iran during office hours you’re likely to be welcomed by a charming Iranian
tourist officer. The bank within the Iran-side customs building offers full rial rates for US
dollars and euros. They won’t change UK pounds nor Turkish lira for which you’ll have to
risk the scam-a-lot guys outside or, more safely, ask hoteliers in Bazargan village. Be-
ware that anywhere else in Iran, except Orumiyeh, Turkish lira are effectively worthless.
Well-connected Tabriz guide-fixer Hossein Ravaniyar (www.iranoverland.com; p89) is
experienced at sorting out motorists’ border formality problems.
 Mt Ararat ARMENIA Khankandi
S IAGKHUT S
WESTERN IR AN M 102
(Aÿrî Daÿî) (Stepanakert)
(5137m) 0 20 km
AZERBAIJAN 0 12 miles
Western Doÿubayazit Gürbulak
Ceasefire Line Zarivar
Sangar AZERBAIJAN Goris r Marivan
Iran NAKHCHIVAN ve Pars Abad Lake
Bazargan Maku Nakhchivan City Ri
Lake Kapan
Highlights Agarak a s
Van Battle Site Shot A r
Culfa Kordasht Eskanlu
1 Hike between Chaldoran Qareh Kalisa Dezli Biyakara
flower-filled valleys Jolfa Meghri Khudaferin
Bastam
Qareh Qarachilar
and snow-capped Van Ziya'eddin St Stephanos Ushtebin
peaks amid the Duzal Kaleybar Kurmai Howraman-at
ruined 12th-century Khoy Aras River Valley Babak Castle Takht
Lankaran Kamala
Hošap Castle Razi
Castles of the Marand Norduz
Meshgin
Tasuj Payam Ahar Astara Selin Belbär
Assassins (p113) T U R K E Y Salmas Shahr Nvin
Khah Sufiyan Halabja Nodesheh
Haftevan Ardabil
2 Challenge Iran’s Mamakan Takhti Tabriz Alvares Astara Nosud Hawasawa
Lavandevil Hajij
desert image in the Mingöl Lake Mt Sabalan Ura
Esendere Sero Orumiyeh Osku (4811m) Sara'eyn Fandoqlu Khotbeh Sara
paddy fields and Kandovan Paveh
forests of Gilan that Hakkari Mt Sarab Lisar
Sahand Bostanabad
lead to the delightful Yüksekova Azar Shahr Hashtpar
Orumiyeh (3707m) Khal Khal Asalem
stepped village of Kivi CASPIAN
Bandar-e Aziz Abad Hashtrud Punel Rezvanshahr
Masuleh (p105) Golmankhaneh Mianeh
Maraqeh Hashtjin Bandar-e Anzali SEA
3 Explore ancient Oshnaviyeh Bonab Somaeh- Kiyashahr
Aqkand Rasht
churches, mud-walled Hasanlu Diz Sara Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh
Mt Seyah (3578m) Miyando'ab Langarud
castles and grand Naqadeh Masuleh
Fuman Lahijan Rudsar
canyons along the Piranshahr Fakhrigah Qal'eh Rudkhan Chaboksar
Shikhlar Deilaman
biblical Aras River Mahabad Shahin Dezh Jawardeh Ramsar
Dandy Rudbar
Valley (p94) near Tonekabon
Zanjan Gilvar Manjil Castles
Bukan Abbasabad
Jolfa Takht-e Soleiman Loshan of the Chalus
Karaftu Hir
Arbil Takab Assassins Noshahr
4 Stagger up Saqqez Caves Soltaniyeh Razmiyan Yuj
to Babak Castle Sardasht Marz-
Qazvin Kelar-
Qom Choqa Sojas Al dasht anabad
(p95) the dramatic Abhar am
ut
emotional heart of Baneh Divandareh Ghydar
Hesar Alam Kuh Dizin
Azarbayjan Bijar Garmab Takestan (4850m)
See Enlargement Kharaqan
Kirkuk Towers Ab Garm
Katalekhor Caves Karaj
Marivan Buin
TEHRAN
IRAQ Negel Sanandaj Ali Sadr Avaj
Caves Hejib
Paveh Gol Tappeh
Palangan Qorveh
 Bahar Lalejin Saveh
Javanrud Kamyaran
Qasr-e- Sonqor
Ravansar Howraman Asadabad Hamadan
Shirin Komijan
5 Venture into Sar-e-Pol-e Sahneh Tuyserkan
Khosravi Zahab Taq-e Bustan Kangavar Qom Lake
Howraman (p123) a Bisotun Jouker
Kerend Eslam Nushijan Namak
magical, rarely visited Harsin Saruq
Abad Kermanshah Malayer
valley of traditional Gilan-e Garb
Nahavand Arak
Kurdish villages
Nurabad
6 Be awed by Borujerd Delijan Kashan
lonely Choqa Zanbil Alashtar
(p138), a massive, Ilam Kuhdasht
brick ziggurat which Khorramabad Dorud
BAGHDAD Lumar Khomein
somehow managed Azna
Bisheh Aligudarz
to get ‘lost’ for 2500 Darb-e- Golpayegan
Mehran Sepid Dasht Astaneh
years Mt Oshturan Khonsar
Ti
7 Commune with gr (4070m)
is
long dead Sassanian Riv Talezang Daran
Dehloran
er Za
kings at Taq-e Bustan d r
Dez Dam k o u h M o u n t a i n s
(p125) and enjoy Al Kut Andimeshk Esfahan
an ice cream while Dezful Chelgerd
doing it Bin Jafar Shahr-e Kord
Shush Farsan
8 Come face to Haft Tappeh
face with a ruler of Najaf Shushtar
Ardal
the world at Darius Qomsheh
Izeh
the Great’s dramatic Choqa Masjed-i
Soleiman Dehdej Borujen
Ka

Zanbil

a
(A
rock cut inscription at
ru

Susangerd
n

Baghmalek

Sh rva
Bisotun (p128) Riv
Eup e r

tta nd-ru
Ahvaz
hrat

rab
es Semirom

l-A d)
er Ramhormoz
River
Landeh
un Riv

Shadegan Dehdasht
Ka r

Yasuj
Al-Basra Behbahan
Bandar-e
Khorramshahr Imam Khomeini
0 200 km
Abadan Dogonbadan
0 120 miles Fars
PERSIAN
GULF Nur Abad
S IAGKHUT S
WESTERN IR AN M
103
104
4 Sleeping & Eating
Makoo Tourist Inn HOTEL $$
(Mehmansara Jahangardi; %322 3212; fax 322
3184; tw/ste US$35/45, winter US$25/35; p) Ap-
pealingly quiet, the Tourist Inn is a green
three-storey block set well back off Imam
St. Despite a little peeling paint the rooms
are by far Maku’s classiest option, with hot
shower, squat toilet and towels. Decent if
haphazard restaurant.
Hotel Alvand MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%322 3491; Imam St; s/tw US$6/10) Just west
WESTERN IR AN A
QAREH KALISA ‫ﻗﺮﻩ ﻛﻠﻴﺴﺎ‬
Splendid outside, though plain within,
Qareh Kalisa (Black Church; admission US$1;
h24hr) is the best maintained of all Iran’s me-
dieval churches. It’s alternatively known as
Kalisa-ye Tadi (Church of St Thaddaeus) for
St Thaddaeus (aka Tatavoos) who supposedly
founded a church here in AD 43. Some say he
came with apostle St Bartholomew, others
that he was St Bartholomew. Whatever the
case, Thaddaeus’ preaching proved a little
too successful and the jealous Armenian king

reacted by killing him and massacring his

of Chahara Sq, the Alvand is the most in-
viting of Maku’s several cheap offerings.
The rooms are well kept and management
understands a little English, but the one
shower has limited availability and upstairs
shared toilets are often out of action accord-
S LREOEUPNI N
3000 converts in AD 66. In a curious twist,
Armenia later became the world’s first Chris-
tian nation (AD 301). Thaddaeus’ memory
was revived with a chapel built here at his
supposed grave in AD 371.
Mostly rebuilt after an earthquake, the

ing to some unfortunate guests. smaller black-and-white-striped chapel sec-

tion dates from 1319–29. The church was
8 Getting There & Away much restored and enlarged in 1810 when
D GM&A KEUAT I N G

From the main terminal buses run to Tehran
(US$4, three daily), Tabriz (US$2, four hours, six
daily, last at 1.30pm), and Orumiyeh (US$1, 4½
hours, hourly) via Khoy (US$1). Rare savaris to
Bazargan (US$0.50) depart from Taleqani St at
Chahara Sq.
Around Maku
To conveniently visit Qareh Kalisa, the site
of the battle of Chaldoran and also the vil-
lage of Bastam with some 2700-year-old
steps and reconstructed ruins, consider
chartering a taxi from Maku then jumping
out at Qareh Ziya’eddin for public transport
to Khoy.
the main beige-white stone section was add-
ed. This is richly carved with saints, angels,
kings and crosses, best observed from the
chunky fortress-style walls that surround
the church site. Ring the bell to the left of the
main door if it’s locked. The only Christian
services are held during a brilliant three-
day summer pilgrimage; dates vary and are
announced shortly beforehand through the
Armenian Prelacy Office (%0411-555 3532;
archtab@itm.co.ir) in Tabriz.
Qareh Kalisa is tucked behind a pho-
togenically low-rise Kurdish village, 8km
off the quiet Shot-Chaldoran road. This
road crosses rolling arid hills that turn
into bright green flower-filled meadows in

CROSSING THE TURKISH BORDER AT SERO

This border post (h8am-10.30pm, Iran time), called Esendere in Turkey, consists of
just a few lonely buildings on a pretty mountain road. Procedures are relatively easy for
individuals but it’s wise to cross early to ensure transport connections. Freelance mon-
eychangers offer poor rates for Turkish lira and worse ones for US dollars. Get better
rates in Orumiyeh or (for euros or dollars) or at the bank within the Iran-side customs
building.
The nearest Turkish-side accommodation is 40km away in Yüksekova. Van Erçiş
(%0438-351 4193) operates a regular Yüksekova–Esendere dolmuş (minibus; YTL5, 45
minutes) till around 6pm: ignore the blatant denials of taxi drivers. Vangölü Turizm run
Yüksekova–Van buses (YTL10, 3½ hours) roughly hourly, passing the magnificent ruins
of Hoşap Castle in Güzelsu village (64km before Van). In central Van, Vangölü Turizm
(%0432-216 3073; cnr Maraş & Cumhuriyet Sts) also offers a 9.30am direct bus to Orumi-
yeh. Turkish time is 1½ hours earlier than Iran’s, half an hour in summer.
In Iran, Sero is a tiny village with a fine mountain backdrop. Taxis run from here to
Orumiyeh (45 minutes); the taxi drivers charge like wounded bulls.

SHAMS TABRIZI
If you find Khomeini-style Islam a lit-
tle stony faced, don’t be put off. Iran
has produced other inspirational
Muslim thinkers. One such was dervish-
philosopher Shams Tabrizi whose brief
relationship (1244 to 1246) with Rumi
was arguably as significant to Sufi
history as Jesus’ encounter with John
the Baptist was to Christianity. Bravely
and often with humour Shams was
keen to point out that religion is not an
end in itself, merely the first step in a
personal journey of spiritual discovery.
His Khatesevom is generally translated
as The Third Line. But The Third Path
might be more accurate, echoing the
middle way of the Buddha.
spring. There’s no public transport. Taxis
from Maku ask US$15 return from Maku
via Shot including waiting time.
Orumiyeh ‫ﺍﺭﻭﻣﻴﻪ‬
% 0441 / POP 623,000 / ELEV 1327M
Known as Rezayeh during the Pahlavi era,
Orumiyeh (Urmia, Urumiyeh) is a logical
stop en route to southeastern Turkey. It’s a
large, very historic city but offers no must-
see sights.
History
Bountiful orchards made Orumiyeh the
historically prosperous ‘Garden of Persia’.
For centuries various Christian groups
(Chaldeans, Armenians, Assyrians and
Nestorians) lived harmoniously here along-
side local Azari Muslims and a thriving
Jewish community. However, in the 19th
century overzealous Protestant and Catho-
lic foreign missionary activities resulted in
a harsh backlash against all non-Muslims.
This was initially led by Kurdish groups
fearing the possible loss of territory should
a Christian-Armenian state be declared.
In 1880 the Persian army stormed Oru-
miyeh to counterattack Kurdish nationalist
leader Sheikh Ubayd Allah. Christians were
massacred by both sides and orchards were
devastated. In 1918 most of the Christian
population fled from Orumiyeh, Salmas and
Khoy, wisely fearing that invading Ottoman
Turks could repeat the butchery that they
had perpetrated on the Armenians of east-
105
ern Turkey. Most of those who stayed were
slaughtered.
Some escapee Christians returned when
the Turks retreated and today six different
Christian faiths remain active. However,
with a continual exodus of emigrants to the
US and Scandinavia, the total non-Muslim
population has dwindled to an estimated
4000.
The main commercial streets Imam Ave
and Kashani St form a ‘T’ at attractive En-
qelab Sq. Beheshti St, unanimously known
WESTERN IR AN O
as Daneshkadeh St, continues west to Pol-
e-Qoyum junction around 3km beyond the
museum.
1 Sights
AROUND ENQELAB SQUARE
Unfortunately, the police aggressively dis-
S IRGUHMTISY E H
suade photography of the 1932 European-
style civic hall (Enqelab Sq).
St Mary’s CHURCH
(Kalisa Neneh Mariyam; off Kalisa Lane; h8am-
4pm or on request) According to local Assyrian
Orthodox Christians, St Mary’s was founded
by St Thomas on the gravesite of one of the
Biblical magi, the pre-Islamic Persian
priests who trotted across to Bethlehem to
greet the infant Jesus, inventing Christmas
presents in the process. This, the Assyrian
Christians claim, makes it the world’s oldest
still-standing church. In fact the structure
you’ll see doesn’t really feel that old. It still
contains four antique tombstones including
that of the supposed magus but his mummi-
fied body was apparently ‘kidnapped’ by
Soviet troops during WWII and taken to
Kiev.
Other Churches CHURCH
Don’t confuse old St Mary’s with the new
St Mary’s in the same courtyard or with the
Assyrian Protestant church that’s visible
from nearby Khayyam St where Orumi-
yeh’s youth make their nightly passeggiata
(nightly stroll).
OTHER LOCATIONS
Orumiyeh Museum MUSEUM
(%224 6520; Daneshkadeh St; admission US$1;
h9am-1pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sun) Fronted by two
stone rams, this small but richly endowed
museum displays fabulously ancient pot-
tery and fine cuneiform inscription stones.
Its most eye-catching exhibit is a replica of
a priceless golden chalice beautifully em-
bossed with charioteers.
106
Orumiyeh e
# 0
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Marsarjis Church CHURCH Seh Gonbad TOWER

More atmospheric than the churches in Tucked away in a quiet mini-park, the two-
Orumiyeh is the Assyrian Orthodox Mar- storey AD 1115 tomb tower may, like many
sarjis Church in the tiny hillside hamlet of Iranian Islamic religious buildings, have ac-
Sir (5.6km west of Pol-e-Qoyum). Despite a tually started out as a Sassanian fire temple.
somewhat heavy-handed 1987 renovation,
the bare stone walls of its twin cave-like Shahrchay Dam DAM

chambers feel genuinely ancient. Ask for A popular local weekend excursion is to this
key-holder Wilson at the delightfully simple dam (19km west of the museum), combined
shop-teahouse (tea US$0.50; h4-8pm Sun- with chay (tea) at one of the riverside tea-
Thu, 8am-8pm Fri) beside the church. houses in Band (9km from Orumiyeh).

Jameh & Sardar Mosques RELIGIOUS, SHRINE 4 Sleeping

Dominating the interesting bazaar, the Reza Hotel HOTEL $
large brick-domed Friday-prayer Masjed-e (%222 6580; Besat St; s/tw/tr US$15/18/21; p)
Jameh (Jameh Mosque; hby request) is partly Large and outwardly somewhat dowdy, the
Seljuk-era but heavily restored. The less Reza is nonetheless a pretty good deal and
religiously significant but architecturally Karim, the gregarious owner, speaks great
fanciful Sardar Mosque (Imam Ave) has a English. Neat if sometimes noisy rooms
Qajar-style tri-lobed cornice, a beautifully have Western loos and good hot showers
brick-vaulted interior and clock-tower mina- with soap and towels. Recommended travel-
ret surmounted by what looks like a giant ler favourite.
perfume bottle-stopper.

Orumiyeh
æ Sights
1 Armenian Protestant Church..............A2
2 Assyrian Church ...................................B3
3 City Hall..................................................A3
4 Jameh Mosque...................................... C1
5 Orumiyeh Museum...............................A4
6 Sardar Mosque...................................... B1
7 Seh Gonbad...........................................C3
8 St Mary's Church ..................................A3
ÿ Sleeping
9 Ark Hotel ................................................ C1
10 Darya Hotel............................................A2
11 Khorram Hotel....................................... B1
12 Reza Hotel.............................................. B1
13 Tak Setareh ........................................... B1
ú Eating
14 Flamingo ................................................A3
15 Noghl Torabi..........................................B2
Pizza 69........................................ (see 14)
16 Shemaran Restaurant..........................B4
þ Shopping
17 Nashreruz ..............................................A3
18 Pasargad Antiques ............................... B1
ï Information
Miras Ferhangi .............................. (see 5)
19 Motahhari Hospital.............................. C4
20 Turkish Consulate.................................B4
ï Transport
21 Espoota Travel ......................................B4
22 Hamsafar ...............................................B2
23 Iran Peyma.............................................B2
24 Seiro Safar.............................................B2
25 TBT ......................................................... B1
Darya Hotel HOTEL $
(%222 9562; fax 222 3451; Tarzi [Chamran] St; s/d
US$30/40) Pleasant, central and quiet, the
nearly smart rooms have minibar, plastic-
wooden wall-cladding and only limited wear
and tear. There’s birdsong and a banana
palm in the welcoming foyer.
Khorram Hotel HOTEL $
(%222 5444; Sardar Camii Lane; s/tw US$15/20)
A vaguely cosy reception area decked with
plastic foliage leads to somewhat small but
neatly tiled rooms with shower and toilet.
Peaceful yet central.
Tak Setareh MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%223 1861; Sardar Camii Lane; s/tw US$9/14,
with TV US$11/17, tr with toilet US$20) Quiet,
107
relatively well-kept mosaferkhaneh (basic
lodging house) where you can play nard
(a local form of backgammon) in the little
lobby area.
Ark Hotel HOTEL $
(%235 6051; off Montazeri St; s/tw US$15/30)
The vivid yellow-and-brown colour scheme
clashes with the pink towels in the reno-
vated rooms with bathrooms. Many cheaper
mosaferkhanehs nearby will refuse to take
foreigners.
WESTERN IR AN O
5 Eating
Flamingo TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%346 1177; Kashani St; meals US$5-7; hnoon-
3pm & 7-10pm) Justifiably considered the
best city-centre restaurant, the kababs
here are succulent and the salad bar is well
E AT
stocked if a little pricey (US$1 per plate-
R UIM
ful). Decor is restrained, with solid wooden
N IGY E H
benches, lanterns and flower arrange-
ments. Head downstairs two doors away
from excellent, co-owned Pizza 69 (pizzas
US$4-7; hnoon-3pm & 7-10pm), which has a
sign in English.
Shemaran Restaurant TEAHOUSE $
(Parhizkar St; h8am-11pm) Predominantly visi-
ted for tea and qalyan (water pipe; US$1),
this gently atmospheric sonati-style tradi-
tional restaurant is immensely popular for
great lunchtime dizi (stew made with len-
tils, potatoes and tomato paste) and also
serves limited dinners (8pm).
Noghl, west Azarbayjan’s speciality confec-
tionery, is made by laboriously coating nuts
or fruits in layers of icing sugar using a ves-
sel that looks like a copper cement mixer.
Buy it from Noghl Torabi (Imam Ave; h8am-
10pm), which also sells fabulous carrot-and-
walnut halva.
Baked potatoes (US$0.50) are sold from
carts around the bazaar’s northeast en-
trance. Cake, sandwich and juice shops are
dotted along Imam Ave.
7 Shopping
Of the three curio shops along Imam Ave,
Pasargad Antiques (%223 1860; h8am-
2pm & 4-8pm Sat-Thu) is the most intriguing.
Nashreruz (Tarzi St; h8am-noon & 4-7.30pm
Sat-Thu, 8.30am-noon Fri) is a small bookshop
stocking excellent city maps (US$1).
108
8 Information
Aynet (Tarzi St; internet per hr US$1; h9am-
9pm Sat-Thu, 10am-1pm & 4.30-8pm Fri) Good
internet connection here, some English spoken.
Bank Melli (Kashani St)
Jahan Moneychanger (%222 2255; Ataee St;
h9.30am-1pm & 4-7pm Sun-Thu) Near the
bazaar; it exchanges many currencies including
Turkish lira.
Miras Ferhangi (%340 7040; Daneshkadeh St;
h8am-2pm Sat-Thu) West Azarbayjan’s keen
English-speaking tourist information office is
beside the museum.
WESTERN IR AN L8 A K E O R U M I Y E H
Telephone office (Imam Ave; h7am-7pm)
Turkish Consulate (%222 8970; Daneshka-
deh St; h9am-noon Sun-Thu) Very security-
conscious.
8 Getting There & Away
Air
Iran Air (%344 0520; Daneshkadeh St) flies
four times daily to Tehran (US$40) and twice
weekly to Mashhad (US$75). Espoota Travel
(%345 5555; espoota@espootatravel.com;
Daneshkadeh St; h8am-8pm Sat-Thu, 9am-
noon Fri) sells air and train tickets ex-Tabriz.
Bus, Minibus & Savari
All long-distance buses leave from the terminal
(Haft-e Tir Blvd). TBT (%222 2844), Seiro Sa-
far (%222 8399), Hamsafar (%224 4562) and
Iran Peyma (%222 2954) have central booking
offices on Imam Ave. Hamsafar and Vangölu
(%233 1333) both operate 9am services to Van,
Turkey (US$25) taking around eight hours (ex-
pect long border waits).
Savaris and taxis to Tabriz go over the newly
complete bridge over the lake.
Some useful domestic services appear in the
table below.
From the Sero terminal (Mirza Shirazi St),
3km northwest of Faqiyeh Sq, minibuses run to
villages of the Gonbadchay Valley, strung along
the loop road that leads up to the dam reservoir
and beyond, turning north 6km before the bor-
der. Taxis to Sero cost US$5 from outside.
BUSES FROM ORUMIYEH
DESTINATION FARE (VIP/MAHMOOLY)
Ardabil US$2.50 VIP
Esfahan US$20 VIP
Kermanshah US$6 VIP
Maku US$2
Tehran (western terminal) US$16/10
Tehran (Arzhantin Sq) US$17.50 VIP
8 Getting Around
The airport is 13km up the Salmas highway (taxi
US$4, 20 minutes). The most useful shuttle-taxi
routes run from Faqiyeh Sq, either along Imam
Ave then along Modarres Ave or up Taleqani St
to the terminal. Savaris to lakeside Bandar-e
Golmankhaneh (US$1, 20 minutes) leave from
the corner of Valiasr and Haft-e Tir Blvds, a little
south of the bus terminal, on summer weekends.
Lake Orumiyeh
Like the Dead Sea, huge Lake Orumiyeh
(6000 sq km) is so super-salty that you just
can’t sink. A Unesco Biosphere Reserve
since 1976, it’s becoming increasingly shal-
low (maximum seasonal depth 16m) now
that the Zarinarud, a major feeder river,
has been diverted to slake Tabriz’s growing
thirst. Some worry that the lake will soon
be as dead as the Aral Sea. Currently the
only life-form it supports directly is the very
primitive, virtually transparent artimesia
worm. But that’s enough to attract plenty of
seasonal migratory birds, notably flamingos
(spring). And the worms are commercially
harvested for fish-meal.
Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan
and founder of Iran’s Ilkhanid Mongol dy-
nasty, had his treasury on Kabudi Island in
the middle of the lake. His burial there in
1265 was accompanied by the wholesale sac-
rifice of virgins, as demanded by the custom
of the day. Tourist access is limited to occa-
sional one-off Friday excursions organised
by ALP Tours in Tabriz (p88).
The lake’s hard-to-access eastern coast-
line is starkly barren; the vivid blue waters
contrast with jagged, sun-blasted rocks and
parched mud-flat islands. The western coast
is greener but orchards stop well short of the
shore.
The stylish Bari (%0433-322 2960; www
.bari.ir; s/d US$110/160; pas), where water is
DURATION DEPARTURES & COMPANY
4hr twice hourly, 5am-6pm
19hr 3.30pm, several companies
11hr 6pm, 7pm TBT
4½hr several Taavoni 9
12hr 10am, 6-9pm several
12hr 6-9pm Taavoni 6 or 8
 109

CROSSING THE IRAN-IRAQ BORDER

Much of Iraq is still deadly, with visitors risking kidnap or worse. However, conditions are
less dire in the northernmost area of Iraqi Kurdistan, which has been virtually independ-
ent from Baghdad since the early 1990s. The Haj Omran border post near Piranshahr,
southwest of Naqadeh, has twice been declared open (and later closed), so check with
your embassy in Iran or Lonely Planet’s Thorntree (www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree)
before taking this route.
Further south, borders at Mehran (accessed via 11am) and Khosravi (via the oasis
town of Qasr-e-Shirin) remain popular with bomb-dodging Iranian pilgrim buses head-
ing for the great Shiite shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf. Both are open to locals only.
Our advice is avoid all three border areas as a number of foreigners have been taken

WESTERN IR AN M
into custody by twitchy Iranian border guards, even near the Piranshahr crossing.

deep enough for floating, is one of the few Gonbad-e Kabul MAUSOLEUM
lakeside 'resorts'. Boat rides here cost from The lovely Gonbad-e Kabul (Dark Dome)
US$10. The Bari is 2km from Qushchu vil- is thought to be the tomb of Hulagu Khan’s
lage; the taxi drivers know how to find it. mum. It’s attractively dotted with blue-tiled

S IAGRHAQ
More accessible Bandar-e Golmankhaneh inlay but let down by its backdrop of school
is a 2km strip of mud flats 17km east of Oru- buildings and a shopping centre.

miyeh where local boy-racers burn Paykan
rubber showing off to a crowd of summer
weekenders. It’s eerily lonely and atmos-
pheric on a stormy winter’s day.
T SE H
The squat, ugly sister of the tomb-towers,
Gonbad-e Qaffariyeh (Dezhban St) sits for-
lornly in a riverside garden with a tacky trio
of concrete dolphins for company.

Maraqeh ‫ﻣﺮﺍﻏﻪ‬
% 0421 / POP 173,000 / ELEV 1440M
While briefly capital of Ilkhanid Iran (from
1255), Maraqeh (Maragheh, Maraga) once
boasted the medieval world’s greatest
observatory. Here brilliant mathematician
Nasruddin Tusi (Nasir al-Tusi) accurately
calculated the diameter of the earth, centu-
ries before the Western world even guessed
it was round. On a windswept hill 3km
northwest of town, a modern observatory
(rasad-khana; hclosed to public) occupies the
site where the original was destroyed dur-
ing Tamerlane’s ravages.
1 Sights
Gonbad-e Sorkh MAUSOLEUM
Of several fine tomb towers scattered around
town this is the most interesting form,
with a square-plan topped by a squinch-
pinched octagon. An upper window-
hole is positioned such that sunlight shines
directly onto the inner doorway at spring
equinox.
In nearby gardens, is Gonbad-e Arqala
(Arg-tomb; Khayyam St; admission free; h8am-
2pm & 4-6pm, till 7.30pm summer) an attractive,
domed, stone building housing a fine collec-
tion of gravestones and pre-Islamic totems.
4 Sleeping
Mosaferkhaneh Tehran Noh MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%222 7368; Taleqani St; dm/tw/tr US$4/7/9,
showers US$1) This mosaferkhaneh is basic
but survivable with hospital-style beds and
bare light bulbs.
Darya Hotel HOTEL $
(%325 0304; www.darya-hotel.com, in Farsi; Shek-
ari Blvd; s/d/ste US$35/45/65) Great free maps
are available to guests at the comfortable
if outwardly very 1970s hotel, two minutes’
walk west of the bus terminal.
8 Getting There & Away
To reach Tabriz choose from savari (US$4, 1¾
hours), bus (US$2, 2½ hours, twice hourly)
or train. For Takht-e Soleiman, savari-hop via
Bonab (US$0.20, 25 minutes) or Miyando’ab
(US$2, 1½ hours).
Around Maraqeh
BONAB ‫ﺑﻨﺎﺏ‬
% 0412 / POP 72,000 / ELEV 1290M
Bonab is known for bicycles and atomic re-
search (most definitely don’t go snooping
around its northern ‘nuclear’ suburbs).
For tourists the main attraction is Bonab’s
active Mehrabad Mosque (Motahhari St;
hdawn-9pm) near the junction of Bahonar
1 10
and Ghom Sts. The exterior is modest but
inside are splendid wooden support col-
umns sporting coloured, faceted capitals
dated 1083.
Just behind, an attractive former ham-
mam (bathhouse) houses the appealing
Museum of Anthropology (%723 1033; ad-
mission free; h8am-2pm & 4-6pm, till 8pm sum-
mer), which has some engaging mannequin
representations of Azari life.
The surprisingly comfortable Laleh Ho-
tel (%726 0386; ring road; s/d/tr US$35/40/45)
WESTERN IR AN TA
is a provincial hotel with a facade like an
upmarket Chinese restaurant. Rooms have
leather seats, mirror-fronted desks and
plenty of marble. But the highlight is a base-
ment bath complex (admission US$1; h3-9pm
for men) of saunas, drop pools and two 10m
swimming pools. The complex is open day-
8 BRIZ
time for women by negotiation.
Savaris to Miyando’ab and Maraqeh leave
from Mo’allem Sq, marked by a conspicu-
ous copper-coloured statue of Ohadie-e Ma-
raqehi, that’s where the Maraqeh road meets
the ring road 900m east of the Mehrabad
Mosque.
MIYANDO’AB ‫ﻣﻴﺎﻧﺪﻭﺁﺏ‬
% 0481 / POP 138,000 / ELEV 1338M
Miyando’ab is a potentially useful overnight
stop en route to Takht-e Soleiman (via Sha-
hin Dezh, then Takab). The historic Mirza
Rasoul Bridge sits at the southern city lim-
its and is visible if you arrive in town from
Mahabad. The oldest mosque is Masjid
Tag (alley off Shahrivar St). In the one-room
museum (%222 4917; Imam St Park; admission
US$0.50; h7.30am-3pm Sat-Thu, 9.30am-1pm Fri),
look for the ancient little fertility goddess
fondling her own breasts.
Nearby Hotel Berenjian (%222 4975; fax
222 7870; Imam St; s/tw/tr US$25/35/45) is well
equipped and very central above a decent
restaurant with English menus. Walk five
minutes left then around the corner to find
the appealing teahouse Molana (Shohoda
St; qalyan US$0.50; h9am-8.30pm) and help-
ful internet cafe AsooNet (Shohoda St; per hr
US$0.50; h10am-10.30pm).
Minibuses for Shahin Dezh (US$0.50, 1¼
hours), Mahabad (US$0.50, 35 minutes) and
Maraqeh (US$0.50, one hour) use the new
terminal out in the northeastern city limits.
Savaris to Maraqeh (US$1) use a more cen-
tral departure point beside the bright-green
‘pincer’ clock tower, 1km up Imam St from
Hotel Berenjian. Shuttle taxis to the termi-
nal cost US$1 from that clock tower.
Tabriz ‫ﺗﺒﺮﻳﺰ‬
% 0411 / POP 1.46 MILLION / ELEV 1397M
A fascinating bazaar, a deeply human heart
and passionately helpful freelance guides
make this gigantic, sprawling city a surpris-
ingly positive introduction to Iran. It had a
spell as the Iranian capital and has proven
extremely influential in the country’s recent
history. Sometimes stiflingly smoggy and
hot in summer, it can be freezing cold in
winter, but the Azari welcome is generally
very warm any time of year. Don’t miss an
excursion to Kandovan, Iran’s ‘Cappadocia’.
History
Biblical clues point to the Ajichay River flow-
ing out of the Garden of Eden, which places
Tabriz at the gates of paradise! More his-
torically verifiable, Tabriz was a Sassanian-
period trade hub and came to eclipse
Maraqeh as a later Mongol Ilkhanid capi-
tal of Azerbaijan. It recovered remarkably
rapidly from Tamerlane’s 1392 ravages and,
while the rest of Iran was vassal to the Timu-
rids, Tabriz became the capital of a local
Turkmen Qareh Koyunlu (Black Sheep) dy-
nasty. That dynasty’s greatest monarch was
Jahan Shah (no, not the Taj Mahal’s Shah
Jahan), under whose rule (1439–67) the city
saw a remarkable flowering of arts and ar-
chitecture culminating in the fabulous Blue
Mosque.
Shah Ismail, the first Safavid ruler, briefly
made Tabriz Persia’s national capital. How-
ever, after the battle of Chaldoran against
the advancing Ottomans, Tabriz suddenly
seemed far too vulnerable to Ottoman at-
tack, so Ismail’s successor, Tahmasp (1524–
75), moved his capital to safer Qazvin.
Fought over by Persians, Ottomans and (lat-
er) Russians, Tabriz went into a lengthy de-
cline exacerbated by disease and one of the
world’s worst-ever earthquakes that killed
77,000 Tabrizis in November 1727.
The city recovered its prosperity during
the 19th century. Shahgoli (now Elgoli) on
Tabriz’ southeast outskirts became the resi-
dence of the Qajar crown prince, but heavy-
handed Qajar attempts to Persianise the
Azari region caused resentment. The 1906
constitutional revolution briefly allowed
Azari Turkish speakers to regain their lin-
guistic rights (schools, newspapers etc) and
Tabriz held out valiantly in 1908 when the
liberal constitution was promptly revoked
again. For its pains it was brutally besieged
by Russian troops.

Russians popped up again during both
world wars and built a railway line to Jolfa
(then the Soviet border) before withdraw-
ing in 1945. This left Tabriz as capital of Pis-
haveri’s short-lived Provincial Government
(autonomous south Azerbaijan) which
tried to barter threats of secession for bet-
ter Azari rights within Iran. The Provincial
Government was crushed in December 1946
and far from encouraging the Azaris, the
shah did the opposite, restricting the use of
their mother tongue. Reaction against this
111
For such a huge construction, the bazaar
is surprisingly easy to miss. A useful en-
trance is the second narrow passage east of
the tourist information office. This takes you
into the jewellery section.
AROUND THE BAZAAR
At the bazaar’s western end an exit pas-
sage hidden by a curtain leads to Tabriz’s
Masjed-e Jameh (Jameh Mosque) with a
magnificent brick-vaulted interior. Beyond,
an alley between two multistage new mina-
rets emerges at Motahhari St opposite the

discrimination put Tabriz in the forefront
of the 1979 revolution well before the anti-
shah struggle was railroaded by more fun-
damentalist Muslim clerics.
1 Sights
BAZAAR
WESTERN IR AN TA
heavy wooden door (no English sign) of
the 1868 Constitution House (Mashrutiyat
Museum; %521 6454; Motahhari St; admission
US$0.50; h8am-5pm Sat-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri).
This charming Qajar-era courtyard house
is historically significant as a headquarters
during the 1906–11 constitutional revolu-

The magnificent, labyrinthine covered ba-
zaar covers some 7 sq km with 24 separate
caravanserais and 22 impressive timchehs
(domed halls). Construction began over a
millennium ago, though much of the fine
brick vaulting is 15th century. Upon entering
one feels like a launched pinball, bouncing
around through an extraordinary colourful
maze, only emerging when chance or care-
lessness dictates. It is a Unesco World Herit-
age Site.
There are several carpet sections, accord-
ing to knot-size and type. The spice bazaar
has a few shops still selling herbal rem-
edies and natural perfumes. A couple of
hat shops (Bazaar Kolahdozan) sell traditional
papakh (Azari hats, from US$12) made of
tight-curled astrakhan wool. The better the
quality, the younger the lamb sacrificed to
the milliner’s art. Other quarters specialise
in gold, shoes and general household goods.
S I GBHRTI ZS
tion, but although many labels are in Eng-
lish the numerous photos and documents
are unlikely to excite nonspecialist tourists.
At the bazaar’s northeast corner, the well-
proportioned former Saheb Ul-Amr Mosque
now houses a Quran Museum (%527 2733;
Madani St; admission US$1; h8am-6.30pm Sat-
Thu, 8am-1pm Fri). Its most intriguing exhibit
is the scripture-covered under-shirt worn by
Qajar monarchs during coronations.
Tabriz has had a Christian community
almost as long as there’ve been Christians.
St Mary’s (Kalisa-ye Maryam-e Moqaddas) is a
12th-century church mentioned by Marco
Polo and was once the seat of the regional
archbishop.
CENTRAL TABRIZ
Kabud (Blue) Mosque MOSQUES
(Imam Khomeini St; admission US$1; h9am-7pm
Sat-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri, earlier in winter) When it

AZARIS, AZERIS, AZERBAIJAN & AZӘRBAYCAN

Although there’s an independent republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan), the majority of
Azerbaijanis actually live in Iran, where they make up at least 25% of the population.
Iranian Azerbaijanis (called Azaris) live mostly in the northwest where two provinces use
the name Azarbayjan. Commonly called ‘Turks’ because of their Turkic dialect, Azaris
are Shiite unlike the (predominantly Sunni) Turks of neighbouring Turkey.
Despite spoil-sport attempts of Western intelligence agencies to stir up Azari sepa-
ratist feelings, Azaris are very well integrated into Iranian society. Many Azari Iranians
are prominent in Farsi literature, politics and the clerical world. The Safavid shahs were
Azaris from Ardabil and current supreme leader Ali Khamenei is an ethnic Azari. Azaris
are famously active in commerce, so bazaars nationwide ring with their voluble voices.
Iranian taxi drivers are often Azari so it’s always worth having an Azari greeting (kefez
yakhtsede? or nijasan?) up your sleeve to impress. Answer yakhtse (good) in Tabriz,
yakhshi in Ardabil. Thank you (very much) is (chokh) saghol.
 S I GBHRTI ZS
WESTERN IR AN TA 112

500 m
Central Tabriz # 00
e 0.25 miles
A B C D E F G
To Marand Terminal (4km) Metro Station â
# 13

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# æ
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ti
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ey

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ar

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ay #1
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kb Baroun Av St
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‚
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A B C D E F G

Central Tabriz
æ Sights
1 Anglican Church...................................... C4
2 Architecture Faculty, Islamic
Arts University ..................................... D4
3 Arg-e Tabriz............................................. C4
4 Azarbayjan Museum ...............................E3
5 Blue Kabud Mosque ................................E3
6 Constitution House..................................C1
7 Jameh Mosque........................................ C2
8 Municipal Hall.......................................... D3
9 Museum of Measurement ..................... D4
10 Nobar Hammam ..................................... D3
11 Poets' Mausoleum................................... F1
12 Qajar Museum.......................................... F1
13 Quaran Museum ......................................D1
14 Sarkis Church.......................................... B4
15 Shahriyar House Museum..................... D4
16 Site of New Jameh Mosque................... C4
17 St Mary's Church .................................... C2
ÿ Sleeping
18 Azarbayjan Hotel .................................... C3
19 Bagh Guesthouse ................................... C3
20 Darya Guesthouse.................................. B2
21 Hotel Sina................................................. B3
22 Kosar Hotel.............................................. B3
23 Mamoodi Mehmanpazir..........................E3
24 Mashhad Hotel........................................ C2
25 Morvarid Hotel ........................................ B3
26 Park Hotel ................................................ B3
ú Eating
27 Honarmandam........................................ D3
was constructed in 1465, the Blue Mosque
was among the most glorious buildings of
its era. Once built, artists took a further 25
years to cover every surface with the blue
majolica tiles and intricate calligraphy for
which it’s nicknamed. It survived one of
history’s worst-ever earthquakes (1727), but
collapsed in a later quake (1773). Devastated
Tabriz had better things to do than mend it
and it lay as a pile of rubble till 1951, when
reconstruction finally started. The brick su-
perstructure is now complete, but only on
the rear (main) entrance portal (which sur-
vived 1773) is there any hint of the original
blue exterior. Inside is also blue with miss-
ing patterns laboriously painted onto many
lower sections around the few remaining
patches of original tiles.
A smaller domed chamber further
from the entrance once served as a pri-
113
28 Modern Tabriz Restaurant.....................B3
29 Rahnama Dairy ........................................D2
30 Restaurant Tatly......................................C4
û Drinking
31 Kahveteria Sonati Tarbiyat ....................D3
þ Shopping
32 Bazaar....................................................... D1
WESTERN IR AN TA
ï Information
33 Afagh Gasht Travel.................................. E3
34 Jahan Seyer Travel Agency ...................C3
35 Mahnavand Travel...................................C2
36 Pardis Clinic .............................................C2
37 Tourist Information Office......................D2
S I GBHRTI ZS
ï Transport
38 Aram Safar ...............................................D3
39 City Bus 110 to Valiasr ............................C3
40 City Bus 111, 132 ......................................C3
41 City Bus 136 to Airport ...........................C2
42 City Bus 160 to Bus Terminal ................C3
Khoshrah ........................................(see 44)
43 Khosrowshahr Terminal (for
Osku)......................................................B3
44 Mihan Safar..............................................D3
45 Seiro Safar................................................C3
Shuttle Taxis to Abaresan
Crossing.......................................(see 45)
Shuttle Taxis to Abaresan
Crossing.......................................(see 33)
46 Shuttle Taxis to Bus Terminal ...............C3
vate mosque for the Qareh Koyunlu shahs.
Steps lead down towards Jahan Shah’s tomb
chamber but access would require some mi-
nor gymnastics.
The Khaqani garden outside, honouring
12th-century Azari-Persian poet Shirvani
Khaqani, is a good place to meet English-
speaking students.
Azarbayjan Museum MUSEUM
(Imam Khomeini St; admission US$1; h8am-2pm
& 4-8pm Sat-Thu summer, 8am-12.30pm Fri, 8am-
5pm winter) This museum is 50m west of the
Blue Mosque. Enter through a great brick
portal with big wooden doors guarded by
two stone rams. Ground-floor exhibits in-
clude finds from Hasanlu (an Iron Age town
that developed into a citadel over 4000
years), a superb 3000-year-old copper hel-
met and curious stone ‘handbags’ from the
114
3rd millennium BC. Found near Kerman
these were supposedly symbols of wealth
once carried by provincial treasurers. The
basement features Ahad Hossein’s powerful
if disturbing sculptural allegories of life and
war. The top floor displays a re-weave of the
famous ‘Ardebil’ carpet, reckoned to be one
of the best ever made; the original is beauti-
fully displayed in London’s Victoria & Albert
Museum.
Arg-e Tabriz ARCHITECTURE
This huge brick edifice (off Imam Khomeini St),
WESTERN IR AN TA
an unmissable landmark, is a chunky rem-
nant of Tabriz’s early-14th-century citadel
(known as ‘the Ark’). Criminals were once
executed by being hurled from the top of the
citadel walls. Far-fetched local legend tells of
one woman so punished who was miracu-
lously saved by the parachute-like effect of
ACBT R
her chador.
I VI ZI T I E S
Ongoing construction of a stadium-sized
Mosallah Mosque next door is reportedly
undermining the Arg’s foundations and ac-
cess is usually impossible.
Other Attractions
Behind high gates, the curious Anglican
Church (Walman St) has a tower of four
diminishing cylinders. The relatively cen-
tral Kalisa-ye Sarkis-e Moqaddas (Sarkis
Church; Kalisa Alley) serves the Armenian com-
munity. It’s hidden in a basketball court be-
hind high white gates.
The 19th-century bathhouse, Nobar
Hamam (Imam Khomeini St), is usually locked
but worth double-checking. Almost oppo-
site, the German-designed Municipal Hall
(Shahrdari Sq) is a century-old Tabriz icon. It’s
only open to the public during occasional ex-
hibitions. Follow Tabazan St down its west-
ern flank then take the second lane to the
left to find the Museum of Measurement
(Sanjesh Muze; %554 2459; admission US$1;
h8am-6pm Sat-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri) hidden amid
very ordinary apartment blocks. The bril-
liantly restored 160-year-old Qajar mansion
is more interesting than its display of ro-
coco German clocks and commercial scales.
Two blocks further south a trio of impres-
sive 230-year-old mansions with two-story
colonnades and decorative ponds now com-
prise the Architecture Faculty of the Islamic
Arts University. Two more blocks further is
the house museum of much-loved Tabrizi
poet Ostad Shahriyar exhibiting the love-
ably ordinary settee and TV set that he used
till his death in 1987. Shahriyar is now com-
memorated much more ostentatiously with
the strikingly modernist Poets’ Mausole-
um (Maghbarat al-Shoara, Maqbar al-Shoara; Seyid
Hamzeh St). Its angular interlocking concrete
arches are best viewed across the reflecting
pool from the south. The complex also com-
memorates over 400 other scholars whose
tombs have been lost in the city’s various
earthquakes. Take bus 116.
Around 350m southeast of the Poets’
Monument (but with no direct road be-
tween them) is the elegant Qajar Museum
(Amir Nezam House; %523 6568; Farhang St,
Sheshgelan; admission US$1; h8am-6pm Sat-Thu,
9am-1pm Fri) within the palatial 1881 Amir
Nezam House, Tabriz’s most impressive
Qajar mansion with a split-level facade. It’s
oddly hidden between a school and a chil-
dren’s hospital.
OUTER TABRIZ
About 4km east of Abaresan Crossing is the
wealthy if architecturally neutral Valiasr
District. While hardly SoHo, it’s the nearest
Tabriz comes to an entertainment district.
The city’s gilded youth sip espressos around
Valiasr’s Karimkhan (Bozorg) Sq and make
a nightly passeggiata along pedestrian-
ised Shahriyar St, misleadingly nicknamed
Champs Elysées.
Elgoli (Shahgoli) Park, 8km southeast
of the centre, is popular with summer stroll-
ers and courting couples. Its fairground
surrounds an artificial lake, in the middle
of which a photogenic restaurant-pavilion
occupies the reconstruction of a Qajar-era
palace.
2 Activities
When there are sufficiently large groups,
ALP Tours & Travel Agency (%331 0340; fax
331 0825; Karimkhan Sq; hDec-Apr) can organ-
ise Friday skiing excursions to Mt Sahand.
The cost for transport is US$6, lift pass
(US$5) and ski rental (US$17 to US$19) are
extra. ALP can also arrange climbing guides
for Mt Sabalan.
T Tours
ALP Tours & Travel Agency TOUR
(%331 0340; fax 331 0825; Karimkhan Sq) Offers
a varying choice of Friday trips (from US$8)
whether sightseeing (Jolfa, Kaleybar or Ka-
budi Island) or winter sports.
The following are private individuals with
other occupations so they’re not always
available at short notice.

Davoud Faraji GUIDE
(%0914-414 7955; www.alb.ir) Great value driv-
ing tours around Azarbayjan. Davoud is
lively, energetic and very sensitive to tour-
ists’ varying tastes.
Hossein Ravaniyar GUIDE
(%385 9776, 0914-413 8096; www.iranoverland
.com) Hossein is captivatingly eccentric. His
mind-blowing mixture of outrageous com-
mentary, jokes and conspiracy theories com-
pensate for his driving style and he has a
wealth of experience in helping overlanders
with their vehicle paperwork.
Nasser Khan GUIDE
(%553 6594, 0914-116 0149; amicodelmondo@
yahoo.com) Legendary multilingual pillar of
the tourist information office, Nasser often
takes small groups on people-watching trips
and cultural experiences. He can often get
you into officially closed buildings (church-
es, zurkhaneh etc).
4 Sleeping
Summer camping is possible at designated
sites, such as in Elgoli Park and near Tabriz
University.
CENTRAL AREA
Azarbayjan Hotel HOTEL $
(%555 9051; fax 553 7477; Shari’ati St; s/d/tr
US18/26/31; a) A fine, central option with
consistently friendly service and unpreten-
tious but regularly renovated rooms with
excellent hot showers and towels. Double-
glazing reduces traffic noise.
Darya Guesthouse GUESTHOUSE $
(%554 0008; Mohaqqeqi St; s/tw without bath-
room from US$7/9, with bathroom US$13/16) This
friendly family guesthouse has well-tended
rooms in a sensibly graded variety of quali-
ties. The tirelessly helpful owner looks un-
cannily like Louis de Funes and delights in
retelling tales of his 1970s trips to Europe.
There’s a useful travellers’ tip book.
Mahmoodi Mehmanpazir HOTEL $
(%554 1744; Imam Khomeini St; s/tw/tr from
US$6/9/12) The cheaper rooms are simple
but quiet off a rear courtyard mini-garden
with free communal shower. Rooms with
private shower are better-painted but poorer
value and suffer from road noise. Handy for
the museum.
Park Hotel HOTEL $
(%555 1852; Imam Khomeini St; s/tw/tr
US$10/12/15) This offers slight old-world
115
charm and there’s a vine-trained rear court-
yard garden. Large rooms have washbasins
but somewhat tatty carpets.
Morvarid Hotel HOTEL $
(%553 3336; Fajr Sq; s/tw US$13/18) This long-
term favourite remains reasonable value
and is blessed with decent bathrooms. Jebel
speaks good English and doubles as driver-
guide.
Kosar Hotel TRADITIONAL HOTEL $
(%553 7691; fax 554 1570; info@kosarhotel.com;
WESTERN IR AN TA
Imam Khomeini St; d US$20; a) Profession-
ally upgraded historic building with well-
furnished, tile-floored rooms that include
satellite TV (Euronews) and fridge. Some
have Western toilets and double beds. Traf-
fic rumbles all night.
SLB
Hotel Sina HOTEL $$
(%556 6211; Fajr Sq; s/tw US$24/35; pa) Calm
E ERPI ZI N G
yet central, this relatively plush midrange
option has bright corridors with strip car-
pets over clean tiled floors. Rooms are neat
and fully equipped. Enter from Felestin St.
Parking is limited.
Mashhad Hotel MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%555 8255; Ferdosi St; dm/s/tw/tr/q US$2/4/5/
8/10; shower US$1) Possibly the only mosafer-
khaneh allowing foreigners to use (five-bed)
dorms.
Bagh Guesthouse MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%555 2762; Ferdosi St; s/d/tr US$4/7/9) Brighter
and cleaner than most mosaferkhanehs,
rooms here are fairly small but five of the 12
have double beds, unusual at this price range.
OTHER LOCATIONS
Shahryar Hotel LUXURY HOTEL $$$
(%329 1420; fax 333 7812; www.shahryar-hotel.com;
First Road Elgoli; s/d from US$120/180) Tabriz’s
new glamour-puss hotel, catering to an inter-
national business crowd. Very friendly staff,
a (working!) pool, a website in English and
lots and lots of shiny suited biznizmen from
the former Soviet Caucasus.
Gostaresh Hotel APARTMENT $$$
(%334 5021; fax 334 6778; Abaresan Crossing;
s/tw/tr/ste US$54/67/87/108; a) ‘Standard’
rooms are stylishly redesigned semi-suites
with breast-height dividing walls between
the bed and a slightly sparse sitting area.
Most have a kitchenette. Although several
kilometres from the bazaar, the location is
handy for public transport to both Valiasr
and the centre.
1 16
Hotel Elgoli LUXURY HOTEL $$$
(Tabriz Pars; %380 7820; fax 380 8555; www.pars
hotels.com; Elgoli Park; s/d/ste US$73/106/202;
pa) Three convex walls of gleaming blue
glass overlook the city’s favourite park, 8km
from the centre. It has everything you’d ex-
pect from a top business hotel except for al-
cohol in the minibar beers. The atrium is airy
and there’s a revolving restaurant on top.
5 Eating & Drinking
On winter evenings, labu (beets) are sold
WESTERN IR AN TA
roasted or boiled from carts along Imam
Khomeini St. Or try baghla (boiled broad
beans) eaten as a snack with vinegar and
paprika at open-air cafes around Elgoli Park.
CENTRAL AREA
There are several decent dining options
E AT
around Coffeenet Deniz and nearby Shari’ati
St has good juice bars. The tourist informa-
B IRNI Z
tion office folks like to show you cheap local
G & DRINKING
eateries nearby including part-vegetarian
Arzhentin Restaurant (hlunch only) and the
delightful little Ferdosi Restaurant, a sub-
terranean one-room vaulted cavern that’s
great for dizi or a puff on the qalyan.
Rahnama Dairy SWEETS $
(Ferdosi St; snacks US$1; h7am-9pm Sat-Thu,
7am-2pm Fri) This simple dairy-cafe serves
unbeatable breakfasts of must-asal (yo-
ghurt and honey) or khame-asal (cream
and honeycomb).
Restaurant Tatly TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(%555 0505; Shari’ati St; pizzas US$1-5; hnoon-
11pm) Ceilings soar to five-pointed star lamps
in this renovated older building. Pizzas are
typically Iranian but the ash (thick vegetable
and noodle soup) is most hearty and excel-
lent value (US$1).
Hornamandan TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(Place of Artists; %553 4594; Imam Khomeini St;
meals US$1-5; h8am-10pm) Vaulted under-
ground eatery with an amusing if tacky
‘sculpted’ centrepiece water-feature and
a choice of tables or carpeted sitting plat-
forms. Decent kababs and rich dizi (US$2).
Modern Tabriz
Restaurant TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(Imam Khomeini St; meals US$3-5; h11am-11pm)
This good-value favourite serves great
kababs and excellent fried trout in a large,
basement dining hall that somehow finds
a successful blend of olde-worlde charm,
1960s retro and idiosyncratic kitsch. Meal
prices include ‘service’, ie salad, soft drink
and delicious barley-and-barberry soup.
Kahveteria Sonati Tarbiat TEAHOUSE $
(Tarbiat St; coffee US$1; h9am-9pm) Cosy, gen-
tly romantic brick-vaulted cafe for tea and
dates (US$1) served on porcelain featuring
Qajar royalty. Women can smoke a qalyan
here without incurring the stares of 40 be-
mused grey-beards.
ABARESAN CROSSING & VALIASR
AREA
En route to Valiasr or Elgoli you’ll usually
need to change shared taxi at Abaresan
Crossing, but there are several fairly nice lit-
tle pizza parlours here of which Abdi (%336
6245; 29 Bahman St; pizza US$3-4; h5-10.30pm)
remains the most noteworthy, with black
decor and real flames over the doorway.
Across the busy junction, Sadaf (%334 5346;
29 Bahman St; meals US$3-6; hnoon-10pm) is an
elegant family kabab restaurant serving de-
cent chelo morgh.
In Valiasr District, although there’s the
functional Al Mahdi teahouse (Amir Kabir St)
and the relatively upmarket Pars Restau-
rant (%333 0048; Homam-Tabrizi St; kabab meals
US$4-6; hnoon-4pm & 6.30-10pm) the speciality
here is pizza and people-watching from cof-
fee shops around Karimkhan Sq.
Pizza Fanoos FAST FOOD $
(%332 4700; Karimkhan Sq; pizzas US$3; h11am-
midnight) Typically small but with attractive
framed glass-art and a good view-window
upstairs.
Mosbat Cafe TEAHOUSE $
(%330 2977; Karimkhan Sq; espresso US$1;
h9am-midnight) Marginally the best of Vali-
asr’s trendy coffee shops thanks to its stylish
downstairs triangular tables and wooden
‘bar’ seating. Upstairs is less appealing. Look
for the big red-on-yellow ‘Café’ sign beside
Haida Sandwich.
Good, similar alternatives to Mosbat include
Sharshab (%330 7741; espresso US$1) just
south of Karimkhan Sq and Orkideh (%331
1146; Mokhaberat St; coffee US$1) a block east.
ELGOLI
oBaliq TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%385 9294; Golshahr St; meals US$3-8) Fish,
fish, fish. Fresh whole fish, fish kababs, fish
köfte balls in the US$3 salad bar, fishing nets
on the ceiling, little aquariums between the
tables and even fish-shaped souvenir pens.

Standards are excellent, the enticing decor
includes log-and-rope chairs and a cave-wall
trickling with water. Get off a Rahnamae–
Golshahr savari (US$0.50) on 35m Sina St.
Talar Bozorg Elgoli TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%380 5263; Elgoli Park; meals US$5) Within
Elgoli’s mock Qajar palace, this busy, sur-
prisingly unpretentious family restaurant
serves Tabrizi köfte, a local home-cooking
speciality like a giant Scotch egg. Order
ahead in winter.
Revolving Restaurant TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$$
(%380 7820; Hotel Elgoli, 11th fl, Elgoli Park; meals
US$7-15; h7.30-11pm) A Plexiglas elevator fires
you through the Hotel Elgoli’s atrium like at
Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for predict-
ably great views. The basic charge of US$7
entitles you to raid the soup-n-salad bar.
Then add main courses including steaks,
sturgeon kababs and fried shrimp.
8 Information
Consulates
Azerbaijan (%333 4802; Mokhaberat St,
Valiasr; h9am-noon Sun-Thu) Tourist visas
available in five days without invitation or hotel
booking. Bring two photocopies of passport and
two photos.
Turkey (%330 0958; Homafar Sq, Valiasr)
Emergency
Pardis Clinic (% 526 2307; Jomhuri-e Eslami
St) Blue building accessed up stairway beside
sign saying ‘Kalagostare Nazary’.
Internet Access
Blue Coffeenet (above Sadaf Restaurant,
Abaresan Crossing; per hr US$1; h8am-11pm)
Astonishingly elegant for an internet cafe.
Deniz Coffeenet (Maghazeh Haye Sanqi Alley
off Shari’ati St; per hr US$1; h9am-10pm) New
computers, fast connection, speech facilities
and traditional Azarbayjani mugam music.
Money
Bank Melli (Shohoda Sq; h9.15am-1pm Sat-
Thu) Upstairs for exchange. Allow half an hour.
Mahmud Abidan Exchange (% 523 1077;
Saraye Amir, Timche Amirno 11; h9am-6pm
Sat-Wed, 9am-3pm Thu) This exchange has
good rates and there’s no queue, but it’s
unsigned and hard to find in a mini mall off
the southeast corner of the bazaar’s largest
caravanserai courtyard. The tourist information
office can show you its location.
Post
Main Post Office (Artesh St) Helpful for ship-
ping parcels.
1 17
Telephone
International telephone office (east Miyar
Miyar Alley; h8am-9pm) There’s another
branch opposite Deniz Coffeenet.
Tourist Information
Tourist information office (% 525 2501; off
Jomhuri-e Eslami St; h9am-2pm & 4-7pm
Sat-Thu) Excellent free maps, lots of help with
organising trips around Azarbayjan, and a mine
of information that will transform your appreci-
ation of this city. It’s upstairs in a curious build-
ing that straddles the main bazaar entrance.
WESTERN IR AN TA
Travel Agencies
The following have English-speaking staff and
offer train and plane bookings:
Afagh Gasht Travel (% 555 2250; Imam Kho-
meini St; h8.30am-8.30pm Sat-Thu)
Jahan Seyer Travel Agency (% 555 6004; fax
553 2331; Imam Khomeini St)
8 BRIZ
Mahnavand Travel (% 553 9444; Tarbiat St;
h8.30am-6.30pm Sat-Wed, 8.30am-4.40pm
Thu) Efficient, well-staffed, new travel and tour
agency.
Visa Extensions
Passport Office (% 477 6666; Saeb St;
h7.30am-1.30pm Sat-Wed, 7.30am-11.30pm
Thu) Helpful for visa extensions.
8 Getting There & Away
Air
Iran Air (%334 9038) has direct flights
twice weekly to İstanbul (one way/return
US$205/275). Kish Air and Caspian Airlines
both fly weekly to Dubai (US$135). Six flights
weekly to Mashhad (US$115) use Eram Air (Sun-
day, Wednesday), Caspian (Monday, Thursday)
and Iran Air (Tuesday, Friday). For other domes-
tic destinations connect via Tehran (US$65,
several daily).
Bus, Minibus & Savari
A couple of bus companies including Seiro
Safar (%555 7797; h8.30am-midnight) have
offices on Imam Khomeini St. Agency Mihan
Safar (%555 4908; Imam Khomeini St; h9am-
2pm & 4-8pm Sat-Thu, 9am-noon Fri) pre-sells
tickets for many domestic long-distance bus
companies.
Most long-distance buses depart from the
huge, modern main bus terminal (%479 6091),
3km south of the centre. Between the bus lanes
there’s a handy information office (h7am-8pm).
Services include the table, p92 (* signifies VIP):
Between 10pm and midnight cheaper buses to
Tehran (US$8) leave from near the train station.
Savaris to most destinations (but not Ahar or
Marand) depart from the terminal’s northwest
corner. Prepay at one of two ticket booths.
118

BUSES FROM TABRIZ

DESTINATION FARE DURATION DEPARTURES & COMPANY

Ahvaz US$15 15hr 1.30pm, 4pm Kejave
Ardabil US$2.50* 4hr twice hourly, 5am-6pm
Esfahan US$16 1hr 4-5.30pm
Kermanshah US$13 12hr 6pm
Maku US$1 4hr daily
Mashhad US$22 24hr 2pm, 3pm & 5pm
Qazvin US$8 8hr use Tehran bus
WESTERN IR AN TA

Rasht US$8.50 8hr 8.30pm Gilan Tabar

Shiraz US$18.25 22hr 1.30-2pm
Tehran (west) US$10 9hr frequent till 10pm
Tehran (south) US$10 9½hr Taavoni 9
Zanjan US$4* 5hr 3pm Seiro Safar
8 BRIZ

OTHER TERMINALS VAN , Turkey (US$33, nine hours) 10.56pm

Use the Khosrowshahr terminal (off Felestin St)
for Osku and thence Kandovan. Out towards the
airport, the Marand terminal (Azerbaijan Sq)
serves Marand and Hadiyshahr (for Jolfa). Buses
to Ahar (US$7, 1½ hours) and Kaleybar (rare) use
the Ahar terminal (29 Bahman St) with savaris
(US$1) waiting across the road.
INTERNATIONAL BUSES
Bus services to Yerevan, Armenia (US$48, 20
hours), İstanbul (US$50, 30 hours) and Baku,
Azerbaijan (US$24, 13 to 17 hours) all typically
leave around 10pm from outside the relevant
ticket offices on Imam Khomeini Ave.
Aram Safar (% 556 0597) For Baku.
Khoshrah (% 556 4451)
Seiro Safar (% 555 7797)
Services sometimes leave from the train station
concourse, so double check.
Train
Overnight trains to Tehran (13 hours) depart
5.30pm (from US$14) and 7.30pm (from US$5)
running via Maraqeh (2¼ hours), Zanjan (nine
hours, arriving antisocially early) and Qazvin.
The train station (%444 4419; Rahohan Sq) is
5km west of central Tabriz. Shuttle taxis and city
bus 111 drop off at the junction of Mellat Blvd and
22 Bahman St.
The 9am local train to Jolfa (US$2, 3½ hours)
operates Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday only.
Weekly international trains:
DAMASCUS (from US$75, 60 hours) 7.30am
Monday; change trains in Tatvan
İSTANBUL (from US$82, three days) 8.30am
Friday
Thursday, returns from Van 6.35am Friday
8 Getting Around
To/From the Airport
Airport bus 136 runs from Motahhari St every
40 minutes. Taxis (with blue stripe) should cost
US$1.
Bus & Minibus
City buses are relatively infrequent. Pre-buy
US$0.50 tickets. Useful routes from the major
city-bus terminal include bus 160 to the bus
terminal and bus 110 to Valiasr. Several services
run the length of 22 Bahman St (for the train
station) including bus 111. Buses 136 (airport)
and 115 (Marand terminal) leave from the west
side of the bazaar. Bus 101 runs to Elgoli from
near Saat Sq.
Shuttle Taxi
A key route runs along Imam Khomeini St from
Fajr Sq to Abaresan Crossing (US$1), but on
returning diverts onto Jomhuri-e Eslami St
passing the bazaar. At Abaresan Crossing, walk
under the flyover to continue to Valiasr district
(US$0.50) or to Rahnamae (US$0.50) where
you’ll change again for Elgoli (US$0.50). For the
train station start from Qonaga Sq (US$0.50).
To the bus terminal, shuttle taxis take Shari’ati
St southbound returning via Taleqani St.
Tram/Metro
A comprehensive four-line city metro is due in
2013, insh’Allah, and will link the city’s sprawling
districts in a roughly north–south and east–west
web of stations; the north–south Line 4 is in-
tended to loop around the old core of Tabriz and

should prove a useful alternative to spluttering
taxis. It looks likely that the metro will only par-
tially be open by the due date.
Around Tabriz
KANDOVAN ‫ﻛﻨﺪﻭﺍﻥ‬
% 0412 / POP 680 / ELEV 1575M
Reminiscent of Cappadocia (in Turkey),
remarkable Kandovan (Chandovan; village
admission US$1) is a photogenic settlement
of troglodyte homes and storage barns
carved out of curiously eroded rocks. These
1 19
but offers hot-water shower and indoor
squat toilet.
Like traditional Kandovan homes, the
Kandovan Laleh Rock Hotel (%323 0191;
fax 323 0190; tw/tr/ste US$340/390/440) has 10
remarkable rooms that have been carved out
of ‘fairy chimney’ rock knolls. But inside they
are luxurious affairs with stylish lighting,
oriental-style futon-beds, underfloor heating
and (in many) deep-stepped Jacuzzis as well
as fully equipped bathrooms.
8 Getting There & Away

sit above a newer lower village like a con-
ference of stone ice-cream cones. Scram-
bling along steep, narrow paths between
them gives you ample idea of the place
within a few minutes. However, staying
overnight allows you to ‘feel’ the village
WESTERN IR AN A
Minibuses from central Tabriz run regularly to
Osku (US$0.50, 50 minutes) till around 6pm.
From Osku to Kandovan (25km) taxis cost US$6
return plus US$1 per hour waiting. Minibuses are
extremely rare. Direct car-tours from Tabriz to
Kandovan cost from around US$13 return per
person.

without its crowds of local tourists.
Beyond Kandovan, smooth steep foot-
hills mask a full view of Mt Sahand whose
hidden volcanic summit rises to 3707m.
David Rohl’s book Legend suggests that Sa-
hand was the Bible’s ‘Mountain of God’. If
true that would place Kandovan slap bang
in the original Garden of Eden. But today
it’s honey rather than apples that tempt a
tasting.
4 Sleeping & Eating
In Kandovan, several of the discordantly
ordinary homes and shops at the village
base offer very basic rooms to rent (r US$4)
mostly from May to September only. You’ll
usually get an unfurnished room with car-
peted floor, so consider bringing a sleep-
ing bag. Standards vary. Kafe Gazakhuri
Daiya (r US$4) is easiest to find (across the
bridge from the Dairyman four-table shop-
restaurant), but like most it has outside toi-
lets and no real shower. Homestay Jamshid
(%323 0016; r US$4) has slightly tattier rooms,
8 R O U N D TA B R I Z
Jolfa ‫ﺟﻠﻔﺎ‬
% 0492 / POP 14,000 / ELEV 708M
The original Jolfa was once a major Ar-
menian settlement famous for its skilled
artisans. So skilled, in fact, that in 1604
Shah Abbas kidnapped the entire popula-
tion, whisking them off to build him a new
capital at Esfahan where their descendants
still live. Original Jolfa is now a busy little
border town focused on Ashura Sq, a sizable
roundabout directly south of the Azerbaijan
immigration post.
Nearby you’ll find freelance money-
changers and No Avaran Internet Club
(Vilaete-Fagih St off Ashura Sq; per hr US$1; h9am-
2pm & 4-8pm Sat-Thu).
The town has little to see in itself, but
makes a good low-budget base for visiting
the Church of St Stephanos (p94), exploring
the fascinating and scenic Aras River Valley
or crossing into Nakhchivan or Armenia.

CROSSING THE AZERBAIJAN (NAKHCHIVAN) BORDER AT JOLFA

Culfa, in Azerbaijan’s disconnected Nakhchivan enclave, is a short walk across the Aras
River from central Jolfa. Use up your rials or exchange them for Azerbaijani Manats
(AZN1=US$1.30) before leaving Iran. Note that in Azerbaijan ‘one Shirvan’ confusingly
means AZN2.
Beware that Culfa’s paranoid police assume that all foreigners are spies. Jump
quickly into a taxi (AZN6, 35 minutes) or minibus (AZN2) to Nakhchivan city, which is
contrastingly relaxed and cosmopolitan. From Nakhchivan city there are direct buses to
İstanbul (AZN35 plus border bribes, five daily) taking around 30 hours via Iğdır (AZN9).
The enclave is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by aggressively closed Arme-
nian borders. You’d have to fly to reach Baku (US$120, six daily) or Gəncə (US$70, four
weekly) but air tickets often sell out a week ahead.
1 20
4 Sleeping & Eating
Jolfa Tourist Inn HOTEL $$
(Mehmansara Jahangardi; %302 4824; fax 302
4825; Eslam St; tw with/without bathroom US$40/
30) Jolfa’s smartest option is 1km from the
centre. Walk a block south from Ashura Sq
then 10 minutes diagonally right at the T-
junction, passing the train station en route.
Some English is spoken.
Hotel Durna HOTEL $
(%302 3812; Vilaete-Fagih St; tw/tr/q with shared
bathroom US$8/9/10) Unsophisticated but
WESTERN IR AN A
neat, well-kept and spotlessly clean rooms
share decent squat toilets and hot showers.
Signed in Cyrillic, 400m east of Ashura Sq,
it’s a step up in quality from the similarly
priced Hotel Azerbaijan almost next door.
Yemekhana Hatäm HOMESTAY $
S LREAESPRI NI VGE &
(%302 2828; Ashura Sq; s/tw US$5/7, tw with
shower US$8) Survivable rooms are available
here at the back of a popular restaurant that
serves up a splendid zereshk polo ba morgh
R EVA
(chicken with rice and barberries) dinner for
ATL ILNEGY
US$1.50, including soup and drink.
8 Getting There & Away
Savaris gather just north of Ashura Sq for Ma-
rand (US$1, one hour), Hadiyshahr (Alamdar;
US$0.50, 15 minutes) and occasionally Tabriz
(US$5, 2½ hours). Minibuses to Marand (US$3,
1½ hours) run from Hadiyshahr, but not from
Jolfa itself. The road to Khoy, shown on most
maps, is partly mud track across almost unin-
habited wilderness. It can be very hard to follow
in places, but it’s possible in a Paykan (US$30,
2¼ hours). You’ll need a full-day taxi charter
to do justice to the scenic Aras River road to
Kaleybar.
Aras River Valley
WEST OF JOLFA
Jolfa’s main tourist drawcard is the very
attractive Armenian Church of St Steph-
anos (Kalisa Darreh Sham; admission US$0.50;
hdawn-dusk), a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The earliest surviving part of the building
is from the 14th century. However, St Bar-
tholomew first founded a church on the
site around AD 62. The well-preserved
exterior reliefs include Armenian crosses,
saints and angels. The bell tower is under
reconstruction.
Tucked into a wooded glade, access to the
church is with a five minutes’ stroll from
the car park passing an ancient stone arch
and ‘mill’ cascade. The church is 17km west
of central Jolfa along the Aras valley. It’s a
wonderfully scenic drive especially in the
golden pre-sunset light, but be careful with
your camera as the river constitutes a poten-
tially sensitive international border.
On the Azerbaijani riverbank 7km west
of Jolfa, a truncated tomb stub and broken
bridge are all that mark the original site of
ancient Jolfa (view it across the Aras from
near a police ‘fort’). About 1km further west,
as you enter a spectacular red-rock canyon,
there’s a ruined caravanserai (north of the
road) and, 400m beyond, a cute, minuscule
Shepherd’s Chapel (south).
8 Getting There & Away
A taxi from Jolfa (25 minutes each way) to St
Stephanos costs around US$10 return with
stops. A car with an English-speaking driver
from Tabriz costs around US$60 return.
EAST OF JOLFA
The Aras River is the Bible’s River Gihon.
For millennia its valley formed a major thor-
oughfare for traders, armies and holy men.
Only with the treaties of 1813 and 1828 did
Russia and Persia turn it into a border line.
Several mud fortifications remain from the
18th-century conflicts that led to its divi-
sion. But today the tension is east–west,
not north–south. Clearly visible on the Aras’
north bank are ruined villages, sad signs
of the still unresolved 1989–94 Armenia-
Azerbaijan war. What a difference 50m
makes. It’s fine to drive along the south
(ie Iranian) riverbank as a casual tourist
(though taking photos isn’t advised). Yet
travelling the parallel north bank’s now-sev-
ered train line would be unthinkable folly.
That route crosses two globally forgotten
‘front lines’: from Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan)
to mortal enemy Armenia, on through Ka-
rabagh (Armenian-occupied Azeri territory),
then back through minefields to Azerbaijan
again. There hasn’t been active fighting for
over a decade, but the guard posts, bombed-
out trains and barricaded tunnels add a
considerable geopolitical frisson to the Aras
River Valley’s great natural beauty.
JOLFA TO NORDUZ
Leaving Jolfa, the horizon is a gateau of red-
and-white cliffs backed by snow-streaked
Armenian peaks. In the middle distance is
the cleft rocky peak of Nakhchivan’s abrupt
Ilan Dağ (Snake Mountain), through which
Noah’s Ark supposedly crashed en route to
Ararat. Just beyond attractive Marazakand,

the sinuous mud wall of Javer Castle rises
on a rocky shoulder. Four kilometres further,
the main road bypasses Ahmadabad vil-
lage: it’s worth a five-minute, 500m detour
to admire its cubist array of mud-and-stone
homes on a small riverside knoll. Another
side road 2.5km further east leads steeply
up to the popular, if somewhat overrated,
Asiyab Khurabe spring and picnic area.
The side trip is justified mainly by the valley
views as you drive back down.
Siyah Rud is hardly attractive, but its
1 21
look west for a particularly inspiring view of
saw-toothed craggy ridges.
After another 25km, a side road rises
steeply to the south beside a police post. This
leads to Ushtebin (Oshtabin, Oshtobeyin)
village after 5km (the last 2km un-asphalted
and muddy when wet). Ushtebin has been
touted by local tourist information offices as
a ‘new Masuleh’, yet virtually no travellers
have discovered it’s charms. Despite a few
issues with rubbish collection, the hamlet is
a very picturesque huddle of stone and mud

farmers produce the raw silk for Khanemu’s
spinners and weavers in Osku. Locals are
happy to show you the cocoon-extraction
process if you’re passing through during
May or June. Further east the road passes
through canyons with glimpses of spiky
crested ridges leading up to Kuh-e Kamtal
WESTERN IR AN K
homes rising steeply in a fold of ‘secret’ val-
ley famous for its white pomegranates.
The main road continues via the photo-
genically stepped village of Qarachilar
(7km from Ushtebin junction) to Eskanlu
(88km) where you could cut inland through
nomad summer pastures to Kaleybar (p95).

8 ALEYBAR & BABAK CASTLE

(Chamtal Dagh, Tiger Mountain).
Sixty kilometres from Jolfa, the canyon
widens slightly at Norduz, the modern Iran-
Armenian border posts (see below).
NORDUZ TO KALEYBAR
Four kilometres east of Norduz, picturesque
Duzal village rises on a hillock dominated
by a distinctive octagonal tomb tower
and Imamzadeh (shrine or mausoleum to
a descendant of an imam). Behind the next
rocky bluff the road passes through the
gate towers and sturdy mud-topped stone
walls of the once huge Abu Mirza fortress
(Kordasht Castle). When viewed from the
east, the walls frame an impressive spire of
eroded rock on the Armenian side. One kilo-
metre further east is a large, lovingly reno-
vated historic hammam (Kordasht village;
hby request) with newly marbled floors and
attractive ceiling patterns. Two kilometres
further east, at the end of Kordasht village,
Kaleybar & Babak Castle
‫ﻛﻠﻴﺒﺮ ﻭ ﺑﮏ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ‬
% 0427 / POP 17,000 / ELEV 1314M
Set attractively in a wide, steep-sided moun-
tain valley, unassuming Kaleybar town
makes a great starting point for random
hikes and visiting nomad camps en route to
the upper Aras River Valley. But by far its
biggest draw is the extensive crag-top ruin of
Babak Castle (Qal’eh Babak; admission US$2).
Known to some as Bazz Galasi, the castle has
a unique emotional resonance for Azari peo-
ple as the lair of their 9th-century AD na-
tional hero Babak Khorramdin. Occupying a
cultural position somewhere between King
Arthur, Robin Hood and Yasser Arafat, Ba-
bak is celebrated for harrying the anti-Shiite
Abbasid-Arab regime between 815 and 837.
Beware of visiting Kaleybar during Babak’s

CROSSING THE ARMENIAN BORDER AT NORDUZ

On the Iran side, the Norduz customs yards occupy an otherwise unpopulated sweep
of rural valley. Moneychangers on the Iran side buy and sell Armenian dram (US$1 =
390 dram) as well as dollars and rials for around 5% below bank rates. One or two taxis
usually wait outside the Iranian border compound asking US$8 to Jolfa. From within the
compound you’d pay US$4 more.
Walking-distance away from customs on the Armenian side is Agarak village. Arme-
nian 14-day tourist visas (US$50) or three-day transit visas (US$40) are available at the
border, but the application might take a while – annoying if you’re on one of the through
buses (Yerevan–Tehran via Tabriz). Hopefully, the bus driver will wait for you. On the Ar-
menian side Aries Travel (%374-1-220138; www.bedandbreakfast.am) coordinates pleas-
ant homestays in Meghri, a 15-minute, 4000-dram taxi ride away. From Hotel Meghri
near central Meghri there’s a 9am minibus to Yerevan (9000 dram, nine to 11 hours) and
a 7.30am bus to Kapan (2000 dram, two hours).
1 22
controversial ‘birthday celebrations’ (last
week of June). While culturally fascinating,
all accommodation will be packed full and
authorities might suspect you of being in-
volved in stirring up political unrest among
the higher-spirited Azari nationalists.
There are several access paths to the cas-
tle. The most popular route starts behind the
seasonal Babak Hotel and takes two fairly
strenuous hours with part of the route up diz-
zyingly steep stairways with fabulous views.
Stronger vehicles can drive up an unsurfaced
WESTERN IR AN K
track to a summer nomad camp reducing
the walk to under an hour. But in winter and
spring, snow and fog can render any route
hazardous or completely impossible.
4 Sleeping & Eating
Kaleybar Grand Hotel HOTEL $
S LAELEEPYIBNAGR && EBAT
(%422 2048; fax 422 4666; Shahrdari Sq; s/tw/tr
without bathroom US$7/13/18, ste with bathroom
US$33) Pleasant enough rooms share decent
washing facilities and squat toilets, while
the comparatively upmarket suites have
bathrooms. There’s a kitchen and communal
A BI NAG
sitting area with good views. The friendly
manager speaks some English. It’s on the
K CASTLE
top floor of a yellow-brick shopping centre
surveying upper Mo’allem St. Use the mid-
dle stairway.
The right-hand stairs lead up one floor to
the unmarked Kabir (Chabizh) Restaurant
(%422 4676; meals US$4-5; h12.30-4pm).
Araz Hotel HOTEL $
(%422 2290; dm/tw without bathroom US$5/8;
p) Kaleybar’s cheapest option has six rooms,
mostly stuffed with four or five comfy beds
sharing one shower and toilet. To find it
take the second alley east of the petrol sta-
tion, 300m down Mo’allem St from the Ka-
leybar Grand. It looks like a private house,
but hides a long banqueting hall downstairs.
Staff seem curiously ill-informed and speak
little Azari, let alone English.
Sitting on a lonely hill above Shoza-Abad
hamlet, 6km from town, the basic summer-
only Babak Hotel is ideally located for
climbing the castle and has sweeping views
from its cafe-restaurant.
8 Getting There & Away
There are direct buses to Tabriz (US$2, three
hours) at 8am and 11.30pm. Taxis want US$1 to
US$6 to the castle access paths depending on
which route you choose. A taxi to Jolfa along the
Aras River will cost around US$46.
Ardabil ‫ﺍﺭﺩﺑﻴﻞ‬
% 0451 / POP 421,000 / ELEV 1354M
Ardabil is a logical stopping point between
Tabriz and the upper Caspian coast. Arda-
bil’s magnificent Sheikh Safi-od-Din Mau-
soleum is by far its greatest attraction but
there’s a fair scattering of other minor sights
and a truly superb teahouse restaurant.
When the chilly smog clears, Mt Sabalan’s
snow-topped peak is dramatically visible
from Ardabil’s Shurabil lake.
Ardabil sits on a high plateau. The weath-
er is pleasantly cool in summer, but terrifies
brass monkeys in winter. Snow is probable
from November.
History
A military outpost for millennia, Ardabil
was the capital of the Sajid dynasty
Azarbayjan from AD 871 to 929, and saw
independence as a khanate from 1747 to
1808. However, Ardabil is best remembered
for spawning two great leaders: the Safavid
patriarch and great dervish-Sufi mystic
Sheikh Safi-od-Din (1253–1354), plus a de-
scendant Ismail Safavi. The latter expanded
the clan domains so successfully that by
1502 Ismail had become shah of all Persia.
His glorious Safavid dynasty was to rule
Iran for over two centuries.
1 Sights
Driving to the Alvares ski-slope from the
nearby hot-springs resort of Sara’eyn gets
you well up Mt Sabalan’s slopes for some
lovely summer trekking.
Sheikh Safi-od-Din Mausoleum MAUSOLEUM
Though relatively compact, the Safi-od-
Din Mausoleum Complex (Sheikh Safi St;
admission US$1; h8am-5pm winter, 8am-noon &
3.30-7pm summer, closed Mon) is western Iran’s
most dazzling Safavid monument and a
World Heritage Site. The patriarch is buried
with lesser notables in an iconic 1334 Allah-
Allah tower, so named because the appar-
ently geometrical motif in blue-glazed brick
is actually the endlessly repeated name of
God. To see the beautiful wooden sarcoph-
agi enter through a splendid little court-
yard of turquoise tiling, then the Ghandil
Khaneh (lantern house) where the inten-
sity of gold and indigo decoration is very
striking. To the left, the glorious 1612 Chini
Khaneh (china room) is honeycombed with
‘stalactite’-vaulted gilt niches originally de-
signed to display the royal porcelain collec-
 123
tion. Most of that was carted off to the Her- span Pol-e Jajim is the most famous, but
mitage (St Petersburg) when Russia invaded the cute, three-arch Pol-e Ebrahimabad is
in 1828, saving the mausoleum’s staff a lot more appealing.
of dusting.
Much of the area around the complex is Haji Fakr & Mirza Ali Akbar
being excavated and an attractive walled Mosques MOSQUE

garden (free entrance, access from court-
yard) makes a peaceful reading refuge.
Other Sights
The covered bazaar is extensive and attrac-
tive, though sliced brutally in half by Imam
Khomeini St.
Stroll the back alleys to find the hand-
some little Haji Fakr mosque with its squat,
Bukharan-style peppermill minaret. Nearby,
the attractively brick-vaulted Mirza Ali Ak-
bar Mosque (Sa’at-Noh Sq) has a blue Kufic-
tiled exterior frieze and lighthouse-style
minaret.

Sheik Jebra’il Shrine MAUSOLEUM
(admission by donation) Sheikh Jebra’il, Sheikh
Safi-od-Din’s father, is buried underneath a
mildly attractive 16th-century structure at
Khalkhoran, a village-suburb 3km north-
east of the centre. It’s an active shrine;
WESTERN IR AN A
Jameh Mosque (Masjed-e Jameh)
‫ﻣﺴﺠﺪ ﺟﺎﻣﻊ‬ MOSQUE
(Shahid Madani St) The Mongol Ilkhanid Con-
gregational Mosque was once a truly gigan-
tic brick edifice and like the Seh Gonbad in
Orumiyeh (p80) built on the site of a Sas-

S IRGDA
remove your shoes before inspecting the sanian fire temple.

murals and multifaceted ceiling.
Safavid bridges BRIDGES
Ardabil has at least five restored bridges
across the Baliqli Chay (Fishy River). Nick-
named Yeddi Göz (Seven Eyes), the seven-
H TBSI L
Maryam Church CHURCH
Found just off Taleqani St, this former
church has an unusual old stone pyramid as
its central dome and now hosts a zurkhaneh
(house of strength; see p292).

THE MIGHTY CASPIAN SEA

At 370,000 sq km the Caspian (Darya-ye Khazar) is five times the size of Lake Superior.
That makes it by far the world’s largest lake. Or does it? Its littoral states (Iran, Russia,
Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan) can’t decide if the Caspian’s a lake at all.
Perhaps it’s a ‘sea’. That’s more than petty semantics. In international legal terms, each
nation deserves its own territorial slice of any ‘sea’ it borders. But with a ‘lake’, resources
below it must be shared equally among all littoral states. So the exact definition has vast
economic implications given the Caspian’s immensely valuable offshore oilfields. The
debate continues.
The Caspian has many environmental worries (see www.caspianenvironment.org).
Under-sea mud volcanoes and oil vents add to the murk of industrial effluent flowing in
through its tributary rivers, notably the Volga. And at 26.5m below sea level, there’s no
outlet from which pollution can escape. Pollution along with climate change are given as
reasons for increasingly severe algal blooms, the vast annual growth of surface water-
weeds which, in summer 2005, covered an astonishing 20,000 sq km of the Caspian.
Scientists are also worried by the appearance of Mnemiopsis Leydiyi (a comb jellyfish)
whose explosive 1990’s reproduction in the Black Sea had threatened fish stocks there.
All this, along with heavy over-fishing, is a particular worry for the slow-growing Caspian
sturgeon, which produces 95% of the world’s caviar, but is now facing possible extinction.
To Westerners brought up reading CS Lewis novels, the name ‘Caspian’ sounds ro-
mantic. Sadly the reality isn’t very beautiful. Between 1977 and 1994 Caspian Sea levels
rose an astonishing 15cm to 20cm per year. Those beaches that survived are mostly grey
and ugly, but local holidaymakers don’t seem to mind too much. After all, swimming in
full chador isn’t much fun. When Iranians tell you how wonderful the coast is, they might
mean because of all the lovely rain. Rasht incorporates rain drops into the calligraphy of
its welcome sign. There are even seaside restaurants named Barun (Rain). For people
from the desert plateau, the Caspian coast’s regular downpours must seem exotic. But
few foreigners share their enthusiasm.
1 24

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WESTERN IR AN A

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A B C D

People Museum MUSEUM Hotel Negin HOSTEL $$

(%444 5885; Ali Qapu; admission US$1; h8am-
8pm Thu-Tue) The local museum has rather
lacklustre ethnographic displays in the part-
ly restored Merdum Shenasi hammam; the
Ebrahimabad Hammam (see Sofrakhane
Sonati Ebrahimabad restaurant) is much
more impressive.
4 Sleeping
Hotel Shorabil HOTEL $$
(%551 3096; fax 551 3097; Shurabil Lakeside; s/d/
tr US$18/30/38) This relaxingly quiet place
is 4km south of the centre but all a-twitter
with birdsong in rose gardens that lead
down to an attractive recreational lake.
Light-suffused rooms have good hot show-
ers and pleasant red fabrics.
Sabalan Hotel HOTEL $$
(%223 2910; fax 223 2877; Sheikh Safi St; d & tr/ste
US$65/80) This old travellers favourite has
been reborn and offers bright communal
rooms in an unbeatable location.
Mosaferkhaneh Safavi MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%224 0616; Sheikh Safi St; s/d/tr US$6/9/11)
The freshest of several rock-bottom cheapies
close to Imam Khomeini Sq. Some recently
repainted rooms have a tap but beds are rock
hard and there’s no shower or English sign.
(%223 5671; fax 223 5674; Taleqani St; tw US$45)
Beyond a somewhat disinterested reception
(no English spoken), almost-smart corridors
lead to very good rooms with full Western
facilities.
5 Eating & Drinking
oSofrakhane Sonati
Ebrahimabad TEAHOUSE $
(%224 9588; Moadi St; mains US$4-8, tea US$1,
qalyan US$1.50) This hidden, fabulously reno-
vated 640-year-old former hammam oozes
atmosphere with three domed chambers
each more magnificent than the last. Lo-
cal speciality pichag qeimeh (tender lamb,
diced almonds, caramelised onions and
soft-boiled egg stranded with saffron) is
cooked with finesse and packed with fla-
vour, albeit in small portions. After dining
retire to the central tea-chamber. Manager
Sheikhlovand speaks English. It’s highly
recommended.
Teahouse TEAHOUSE $
(Modarres St; breakfast US$1; h7am-3pm) This is
an unnamed, all-male teahouse almost op-
posite the library that does fabulous curds-
and-honeycomb breakfasts.

Ardabil
æ Sights
1 Bazaar .................................................... C1
Ebrahimabad Hammam ............ (see 14)
2 Haji Fakr Mosque ..................................B2
3 Jameh Mosque...................................... D1
4 Maryam Church/Zurkhaneh............... B1
5 Mirza Ali Akba Mosque ........................B2
6 People Museum .................................... A1
7 Pol-e-Ebrahimabad ..............................C3
8 Sheikh Safi-od-Din Mausoleum ..........A2
ÿ Sleeping
9 Hotel Negin ............................................ B1
10 Mosaferkhaneh Safavi .........................B2
11 Sabalan Hotel........................................A2
ú Eating
12 Confectionery Shops............................A2
13 Hajkhalim Chaykhaneh........................ B1
14 Sofrakhane Sonati
Ebrahimabad......................................C3
15 Teahouse ...............................................B3
ï Transport
16 Homai Travel .........................................B2
17 Minibuses to Khalkoran ....................... C1
18 Shuttle Taxi to Bus Terminal............... C1
19 Shuttle Taxi to Meshginshahr
Terminal/Moghan Sq........................ C1
Hajkhalim Chaykhaneh TEAHOUSE $
(Qunchi Meydan Alley; dizi US$1, tea US$0.10,
qalyan from US$0.50; h6.30am-11pm) Equally
daunting for women, this place offers a very
cheap, thoroughly ‘real’ local teahouse expe-
rience. Expect stares.
Numerous confectionary shops facing
the Safi-od-Din Mausoleum sell helva siyah
(black halva or ‘pest’), a rich local speciality
vaguely reminiscent of Christmas pudding.
It costs around US$4 per kilogram but a
small plateful sprinkled with coconut, grat-
ed nuts and cinnamon is plenty (US$0.20).
Ardabil’s famous honey is sold throughout
the city.
8 Information
Aryana Currency Exchange (%223 8747;
Sheikh Safi St; h9am-2pm & 4-8pm) It ex-
changes many currencies including Azerbaijani
manats.
Coffeenet Mohsen (Imam Khomeini Sq; per hr
US$1; h8am-midnight) Downstairs. The best
connection of five internet places within 50m.
125
Miras Ferhangi (%225 2708; Khane Ershadeh
St; h7.30am-2pm Sat-Thu) Excellent free maps
of Ardabil, Sara’eyn and the region from a
charming little brick courtyard house.
8 Getting There & Away
Flights to Tehran (US$40) leave three times daily
with Iran Air (%223 8600) and daily with Iran
Aseman. Helpful Homai Travel (%223 3233;
Sa’at-Noh Sq; h8.30am-7.30pm Sat-Thu, 9am-
1pm Fri) sells air tickets and train tickets ex-Tabriz.
Bus, Minibus & Savari
WESTERN IR AN A
From the main terminal (Moqaddas-e-Ardabili
St), 5km northeast of the centre, Tehran buses
(US$8 to US$11, 10 hours) leave hourly (7am
to 11pm) via Astara (US$0.50 to US$1, two
hours), Rasht (US$2 to US$4, five hours) and
Qazvin (US$6 to US$12, eight hours). Buses run
to Tabriz (US$2 to US$4, four hours) via Sarab
8 S TA R A
hourly till 3.30pm.
Savaris to Astara (back/front/whole car
US$1/US$2/US$10, 1½ hours) use Istgah As-
tara (% 882 0876; Jam’e-Jam St), a small yard
with a green sign 100m northeast of Jahad Sq.
8 Getting Around
The airport is 1km off the Astara road, 11km
northeast of Ardabil (US$6 by taxi). From Imam
Khomeini Sq shuttle taxis run to Bahonar Sq (for
Sara’eyn minibuses) and to Besat Sq. Khalkho-
ran minibuses start near Imam Hossein Sq.
Astara ‫ﺁﺳﺘﺎﺭﺍ‬
% 0182 / POP 35,000 / ELEV -25M
Astara has a wide but litter-strewn beach
(Sahel Darya) and could make a base to visit
the forested Talesh mountain hinterlands,
but most travellers head straight on to Arda-
bil, Rasht or Azerbaijan.
4 Sleeping
Belal Hotel HOTEL $
(%521 5586; Mo’allem Sq; s/d/tr US$17/25/34) If
arriving from Azerbaijan walk directly south
(150m) from the border post to find Hakim
Nezami St for midrange accommodation,
such as this hotel with an English-speaking
manager and relatively pleasant rooms (with
en suite) off somewhat scrappy corridors.
Mehmanpazir Aseman MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%522 2300; off Shahrdari Sq; tw with/without show-
er US$10/8) Walk 400m west of the Belal to
Shahrdari Sq for a bearable if typically male-
dominated mosaferkhaneh with shared
toilets. Marked as ‘Asiman Mehmanxanasi,’
1 26
it’s accessed via a clothing passaj beside
Bank Melli (with no exchange).
Espinas Hotel LUXURY HOTEL $$$
(%525 2700; www.espinashotel.com; Rasht Hwy;
s/d/ste US$120/140/190; pa) This interna-
tional-standard hotel, 6km south of town,
sits beside an attractive mountain-backed
lake where you can rent jet skis.
Little Hashtpar is often referred to as
‘Talesh’, somewhat confusing as Talesh is
also the name of the region and its people.
Behind Hashtpar’s charioteer statue in the
central square is an attractive Qajar-era oc-
tagonal pavilion, but since it’s used by revo-
lutionary guards, photography is unwise.

8 Getting There & Away

Rasht ‫ﺭﺷﺖ‬
% 0131 / POP 618,000 / ELEV 4M
The Espinas Hotel is 5km beyond the terminal Rapidly expanding Rasht is the capital of
(Imam Khomeini St) where buses go to Tehran
WESTERN IR AN A

Gilan province and by far the largest city of

(US$10), Tabriz (US$8, six hours, 3pm), Rasht
(US$8, 10am and 1pm) and Qazvin (US$10,
4pm). More frequent through buses plus con-
venient savaris to Rasht (US$8, 2½ hours) and
Ardabil (US$4, 1½ hours) pick up around mas-
sive Laleh (Shohoda Qomran) Sq, 200m further
south.
8 S TA R A TO R A S H T
the Shomal (Caspian littoral) region. Gilan
has had extended periods of independence
and the lispy local Gilaki dialect remains
noticeably distinct from Farsi, its reversed
adjective-noun order causing much amuse-
ment for other Iranians.

Although 15km inland, Rasht is a popu-

Astara to Rasht
Between Astara and Rezvanshahr several
relatively unspoilt sections of Caspian hin-
terland offer attractive views of rice pad-
dies (notably at Lavandevil, Khotbeh Sara
and Sust). There’s some lovely woodland
behind Asalem and the most accessible
of the region’s castle ruins is the cute little
Dezhe Sasal Fortress (Qal’eh Lisar; Salsal St),
which crowns a petite wooded knoll at the
southern end of Lisar town, five minutes’
walk off the main highway. Its gate arch is
intact and offers sea views, although the
rest of the site is fenced off.
lar weekend and holiday destination for Te-
hranis, for whom the greatest attraction is
its ‘refreshing’ climate (ie lots of rain). It’s
mildly amusing to watch local tourists driv-
ing with arms outstretched to feel the drops.
But year-round downpours and steaming
summer humidity don’t otherwise appeal to
most foreign tourists.
The city has precious little in the way of
historical buildings, but is a useful transport
hub from which to visit the lush mountain
forests, rice paddies and thatched-house vil-
lages of the emerald-green Gilan hinterland,
most famously at Masuleh. It’s also a great
place to taste the garlic-stoked, vegetable-
rich Gilan cuisine (p101).

CROSSING THE AZERBAIJAN BORDER AT ASTARA

A narrow river divides Astara (Iran) from Astara (Azerbaijan). By Caucasus standards
the pedestrian border here is quick and straightforward with neither fees nor bribes to
pay. Things are contrastingly slow for vehicles. International Baku–Tehran buses wait
between three and seven hours while the whole bus is checked. Visas are not available
on arrival. The pedestrian crossing point (Mosaferi Gümrük; h7.30am-noon & 1.30-
4.30pm) is easy to miss up a small lane north of Hakim Nezami St. On the Azerbaijan
side, the unmarked metal border gate is 500m along Heydar Əliyev küçasi from the
excellent-value Hotel Şindan.
Freelance moneychangers at the Iran-side border-gate offer passable rates. Get rid of
rials here if heading north. Leave bigger exchanges till Ardabil or Rasht if heading south.
Near Hotel Şindan on the Azerbaijan side, Kapital Bank has an ATM cash machine.
Confusingly many Azeris count in ‘shirvans’ rather than New Azeri manats (AZN,
US$1=AZN0.80). One shirvan means AZN2.
Decrepit night buses to Baku (AZN5) and daytime minivans to Lənkəran (AZN2) start
100m north of Hotel Şindan.
An overnight sleeper train to Baku (AZN2.70, 11 hours) leaves Astara around 7pm, but
the station is 3km from the border and tickets often sell out.
 127

CUT THE CAVIAR – GILAN CUISINE

The Caspian Sea produces 95% of the world’s caviar. But don’t count on seeing any.
Iran’s caviar is virtually all for export. In fact, Gilan’s cuisine largely ignores the sea
and focuses on the local wealth of fruit, nuts, olives and vegetables. Typical dishes are
packed with garlic and turmeric, rather shocking for the sensitive taste buds of central
Iranian tourists. Sirabi is essentially fried garlic leaves with egg, shami Rashti are deep-
fried lentil-and-meat patties, baghilah qotoq are dill-and-garlic-flavoured broad beans,
while anarbij (meatballs in walnut and pomegranate sauce) is a variant of fesenjun
(chicken with walnuts). Easier to find than any of the above is mirza ghasemi, a veg-
etarian marvel of mashed aubergine, squash, garlic and egg. Although often listed as a
starter it makes a delicious meal of its own when served with rice.

WESTERN IR AN R
History 1 Sights
Rasht (previously Resht) developed in the Shahrdari MONUMENT
14th century, but the population was mas- (Municipality Bldg; Shahrdari Sq) Rasht’s most
sacred in 1668 by the forces of Cossack brig- identifiable landmark, the Shahrdari's colo-
and Stepan ‘Stenka’ Razin who also sank

Persia’s entire Caspian navy. The Russians,
a constant factor in the region thereafter,
were back in 1723 clearing spaces in the
then-impenetrable forest to allow Resht’s
growth. In 1899 a Russian company cut the
road to Qazvin, diminishing Gilan’s isola-
tion from the rest of Iran. By WWI the town
boasted 60,000 inhabitants and four inter-
national consulates.
From 1917 it was the centre of Kuchuk
Khan’s Jangali (‘Forest’) Movement, an Is-
lamic, Robin Hood–style rebellion. Among
their grievances with collapsing Qajar Iran
was the shah’s perceived sell-out to oil-
hungry Britain. Courting the Bolsheviks
who’d just taken control of Russia, Kuchuk
Khan joined forces with communist agita-
tors and, on 4 June 1920, set up Gilan as the
‘Soviet Socialist Republic of Iran’. However,
radical-leftists and land-owning Muslim
nationalists made very prickly bedfellows.
Once Kuchuk Khan had ejected the infi-
del communists from his ‘government’, his
Russian backers slipped away leaving Gilan
prey to the efficient new regime of Reza
Khan (later Shah Reza Pahlavi) who’d taken
over Persia in a February 1921 coup. Reza
Khan first dealt with temporarily independ-
ent Tabriz/Azarbayjan, then attacked Gilan.
Most of Rasht’s pretty wooden houses were
burnt, Kuchuk Khan was executed and his
severed head was brought to Tehran for
public display.
These days any enemy of the Pahlavis has
become a friend of the current Islamic Re-
public. Thus Kuchuk Khan has ridden back
into favour on many a horseback statue
across Gilan.
S IAGSHHTTS
nial style is tempered by a token mini-dome
topping a distinctive whitewashed tower.
It looks great when floodlit at night. Palm
trees admire the interplay of fountains in
the square opposite.
Kuchuk Khan
statue & mausoleum MONUMENT, MAUSOLEUM
The central horseman statue (Shohada
Sq) is Kuchuk Khan, the Jangali leader
of ‘Soviet Iran’. A steady flow of well-
wishers also visit his tomb (Manzariyeh St),
2km southwest of Shohoda Sq (also known
as Shahrdari Sq), sheltered by a contempo-
rary brick gazebo with intricate wooden roof.
Rasht Museum MUSEUM
(Taleqani St; admission US$1; h8am-5.30pm Tue-
Sun, 9am-1pm Fri) While small, this museum is
well presented in a 1930s house. Its manne-
quin displays illustrate Gilaki lifestyle, amid
a selection of 3000-year-old terracotta riton
drinking horns in the shape of bulls, rams
and deer. Supping from such vessels suppos-
edly endowed the drinker with the powers
and skills of the animal depicted.
Gilani cottages HISTORICAL COTTAGE
Supposedly ‘typical’ thatched-roof with up-
per wooden balustrades are shown in many
brochures, but are very rare in situ. One-
such has been dismantled and moved to a
traffic island in Shahid Ansari Blvd (behind
a drive-in burger takeaway) and is now used
as a tourist information outpost.
Gilan Rural Heritage Museum MUSEUM
(%323 9490; admission US$1; h9am-dusk Thu-
Fri) Many more traditional Gilani cottages
have been reassembled in the grounds
1 28

Rasht e
# 00 400 m
0.2 miles
A B C D

66

‚
To Pol-e Busar (1km); Gilani Cottages (2km);

Sa'di St

Samii Alley
Istgah Anzali (3.5km); Airport (5km)
# 10
id Dabiri St
1 Sah 1

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#
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S
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t
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om
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WESTERN IR AN R

To Savaris/Minibuses â
#2 a m St ì
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66
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an St

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2 2 Ba hm

To Hotel Pamchal (1.7km);

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666
Ziyabari Blvd Lakani Sq
4 Hafe 4
z St

Park-e 7ú
#

666
Shahr
A B C D

of this excellent museum 18km south of 4 Sleeping

Rasht (2km off the Qazvin highway). Six full
homesteads complete with rice barns are
already ‘active’ in 150 hectares of woodland.
On open days, local crafts (thatching, mat-
making, cloth-weaving) are displayed and
there are tightrope-walking mini-shows.
Houses display local tools left lying around
as though the owners had just nipped out
to the pub.
T Tours
Hassan Mohit GUIDE
(%0911-136 7796; www.aryantour.com) This de-
lightful and personable English-speaking
driver-guide has a refreshingly easy-going
manner. Daily rates range from US$150/80
with/without car. Hassan can provide
scrumptious family meals and homestay
beds at Titi (‘blossom’) Cottage in the semi
rural village of Ebrahim Sara (25km east of
Rasht).
There are many options, but occupancy is
high in peak summer season (May to Sep-
tember) when overwhelming humidity
makes air-con virtually essential.
Kadus Hotel HOTEL $$
(%322 3075; cadus_hotel@yahoo.com; Azadi
Blvd; s/d/tr/ste US$80/104/120/146; pas)
A full-blown refit has cleverly used con-
temporary-retro touches to bring alive the
Kadus’ 1970s architecture. Rooms have
trendy faux-antique basins, Western loos
and brightly tasteful decor. It’s about 2.5km
south of Shohoda Sq.
Hotel Pamchal HOTEL $$
(%666 3822; Mosalla Sq; d/ste US$56/75; a) It
has attractively rebuilt rooms with designer
armchairs and pot plants. The orange globe-
lamps are stylish and the big bathrooms
have Western toilets.

Rasht
æ Sights
1 Kuchuk Khan Horseman Statue......... C1
2 Rasht Museum ......................................B2
3 Shahrdari ...............................................C2
ÿ Sleeping
4 Hotel Ordibesht..................................... C1
5 Mehmanpazir Kenareh ........................ D1
ú Eating
6 Kourosh.................................................. C1
7 Kumeh ................................................... D4
þ Shopping
Cadeau ........................................... (see 8)
8 Farahmand ............................................C2
9 Ta'ati Bookshop ....................................C2
ï Transport
10 Savaris to Bandar-e Anzali .................. C1
11 Shuttle Taxis to Lahijan
Terminal..............................................C2
12 TBT ......................................................... C1
Hotel Ordibesht HOTEL $
(%222 9210; fax 222 2221; s/d US$45/50; pa)
The Ordibesht has delightful staff and love-
ably dated decor behind concrete Corin-
thian columns. Set well back off Shohoda
Sq, it manages to be splendidly central yet
very quiet.
Mehmanpazir Kenareh MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%222 2412; Ferdosi Alley off Shari’ati St; s/tw/
tr US$9/14/17) By far the most appealing
of the central cheapies, this relatively new
place has sparkling white-tiled floors, reli-
ably changed sheets and its off-road location
means it’s reasonably quiet. No English sign.
5 Eating & Drinking
For cheap desserts, nuts and snacks there
are stalls around the bazaar. Many cheap
kabab barbecues appear at night on Imam
Khomeini St and Toshiba Sq.
o Bijan’s ITALIAN $$
(%424 5260, 0911-131 2588; bijannabi@yahoo.com;
Gaz Sq, Namju Blvd; meals US$7-12; hdusk-11pm
Sat-Thu) Soft Mediterranean music, sepia
photos and displays of olive-oil bottles cre-
ate a delightful atmosphere in this very un-
Iranian Italian bistro where talented chef
Bijan (trained in Sheffield rather than Sor-
rento) turns out scrumptious pastas served
1 29
with huge bowls of Parmesan. It’s south of
Park-e Shahr.
Kumeh TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%322 6579; Hafez St; kababs US$2-3; h11am-
2pm & 5.30-11pm) The most interesting of a
huddle of restaurants in the Park-e-Shahr
area, Kumeh has Irano-Hawaiian covered
dining platforms outside. Inside is more
standard but sharing a post-prandial qalyan
here is an ideal way to meet some friendly
regulars.
WESTERN IR AN R
Saeed Coffee Shop TEAHOUSE $$
(%323 4298; Azadi Blvd; sandwiches US$4-5, cof-
fees US$2; h11am-11pm) Gently stylish cafe,
south of the centre, serving good strong
espressos. There’s a billiard hall and decent
pizzeria in the same block.
E AT
Kourosh
A SIHNTG & D R I N K I N G
TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%222 8299; Gilantur Lane; meals US$6-10;
h11am-4pm & 6.30-11pm) Kourosh wins no
prizes for decor but offers numerous typi-
cal Gilani dishes including dill-rich bagilah
qotoq, zeitun parvarden (olives in walnut
paste) and garlic mast. On a good day the
mirza ghasemi (mashed eggplant, squash,
garlic, tomato and egg, served with bread or
rice) can be superb but the fesenjun (chick-
en with walnuts) is rather tart.
Restaurant Tak TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%323 2147; Azadi Blvd; meals US$7-13; h11.30am-
4pm & 7-10.30pm) Three floors of compara-
tively upmarket dining with Gilani options
including torshe tareh, a citrusy dish of local
sorrel and egg.
Pizza Pizza PIZZERIA $$
(Gilan Blvd at 149th St; pizzas US$6-9; h6.30pm-
midnight) Comparatively pricey but unusual
in having female wait-staff and a children’s
play area. Order downstairs; the menu is in
English. It’s 3km north of Shohoda Sq.
Babak TEAHOUSE $
(Golsar Ave at 102nd St; cappuccino US$1.50;
h10am-midnight) A stylish green, cream and
chrome coffee-bar, 2km north of Shohoda
Sq, serving sundaes and shakes.
7 Shopping
Farahmand SOUVENIRS
(Imam Khomeini Blvd; h9.30am-9pm Sat-Thu)
Souvenirs ranging from Gilaki wooden
spoons to amusing wicker frogs are sold
here.
1 30
Cadeau SOUVENIRS
(Imam Khomeini Blvd; h10am-12.30pm & 6.30-
9.30pm Sat-Thu) Nearby Cadeau sells plenty of
canework and the odd briar pipe.
Ta’ati Bookshop BOOKS, MAPS
(%222 2627; A’lam-ol Hoda St; h9am-1.30pm &
4-9pm) Sells brilliant city maps (US$1).
Nafis SOUVENIRS
(%772 7308; Bastani Shoar Sq; h9am-1.30pm &
4-10pm) If you’re looking for more upmarket
inlay boxes Nafis, 2km north of Shohoda Sq,
WESTERN IR AN R
is the place to go.
8 Information
Internet Access
Ghamoos Rayane Coffeenet (%223 5970;
Passaj Nefis, A’lam-ol Hoda St; per hr US$1;
h9am-9pm Sat-Thu) Fast connection, friendly
8 ASHT
people but hidden away on the 4th floor (take
the lift from the pasazh beside Bank Tejarat).
PM Coffeenet (Taleqani St; per hr US$1;
h10am-9pm) Graffiti-cool interior with sepa-
rate women’s room.
Money
Mehrpouya Currency Exchange (%222 7826;
Sa’di Ally; h9am-1.30pm & 4.30-8pm Sat-Thu)
Near Shohoda Sq.
Vase Exchange (%224 0597; Moravid Close,
1st fl; h9.30am-1.30pm & 5-8pm Sat-Wed,
9.30am-1.30pm Thu) Free chockies while you
change money. Good rates.
Post
There’s a central post office on Shohoda Sq but
for parcel service use the main post office (Ben-
tolhoda St) just off Golsar Ave in Golsar.
Telephone
Central telephone office (Shohoda Sq;
h8am-8pm) Domestic calls only.
ROOTS OF THAT CUPPA
Gilan province produces 90% of Iran’s
tea. The deep green, manicured tea-
bushes are now so emblematic that it’s
hard to believe they were introduced
only a century ago. In fact, tea didn’t
reach Persia until the 17th century, when
it became an expensive luxury. Qajar-
period attempts to grow the stuff were
unsuccessful until Kashef-ol-Saltaneh,
an Iranian consul in India, managed
to learn the secret art. Around 1900
he slipped home to Lahijan with some
4000 tea plants and the rest is history.
International telephone office (Taleqani St;
h8am-9pm Sat-Thu)
Tourist Information
Gilan Miras Ferhangi (%775 4664; Ehtesab
Alley off Sabz Sq; h8am-2pm Sat-Thu) Historic
brick building and attractive garden hosts the
tourist information office.
Visa Extensions
Police headquarters (%218 3481; room 8,
1st fl, Shohada Sq; h8am-1.30pm Sat-Thu)
To extend your visa, apply before 10am. Pay
IR300,000 to the specific Bank Melli (either cnr
22 Bahman or 17 Shahrivar Sts), return with the
receipt and pay a further US$1 to a uniformed
officer. Processing takes about three hours.
8 Getting There & Away
Air
Iran Air (%772 4444; Golsar Ave; h7.30am-
7pm Sat-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri) flies twice weekly to
Mashhad (US$70). Iran Aseman (%775 9594;
Rasht airport) flies to Shiraz (US$80, Saturday)
and Bandar Abbas (US$100, twice weekly). Both
airlines fly at least daily to Tehran (US$50).
Bus, Minibus & Savari
The main bus terminal is 2km south of ‘Toshiba’
(Mosallah) Sq. Several bus companies have
handy central booking offices. TBT (%222 3520;
Sa’di St) serves most destinations (mahmooly
unless otherwise stated), see the table, p105.
Savaris to Tehran leave from five different
points along Imam Khomeini St. Informal Tehran
and Qazvin savaris pick up at Toshiba and Gil
Sqs, southeast of the city centre.
Many buses to Ardabil (US$5 to US$7, five
hours) via Astara start from Tehran and pick up
at Istgah Anzali (Valiasr Sq).
Savaris to Astara (US$8, 2½ hours) and Asa-
lem (change for Khal Khal) start at Pol-e Busar
(Sa’di St).
For Fuman, and thence Masuleh, savaris/
minibuses (US$0.50/1) depart from Yakhsazi Sq
(Shohaday Gomnam Sq).
Informal Lahijan savaris pick up on Shari’ati
St, but the official Lahijan terminal is 500m east
of Janbazan Sq hidden opposite a Saipa show-
room. Durations vary widely according to traffic
conditions, but prices for minibuses/savaris are
Lahijan US$1/1.50 and Chalus US$1/5.
8 Getting Around
Many shuttle-taxi routes run the length of Imam
Khomeini Blvd from Shohada Sq, or along Sho-
hada St to the Lahijan terminal. Northbound,
many shuttle taxis go up Sa’di St via Shahid
Ansari Sq, where some swing left up to Golsar,
others continuing to Valiasr Sq (Istgah Anzali).
These return southbound down Takhti St.

BUSES FROM RASHT
DESTINATION FARE (VIP/MAHMOOLY)
Ahvaz US$8
Esfahan US$14
Gorgan US$8/4
Hamadan US$4 (Merc)
Mashhad US$18/14
Tabriz US$11
Tehran US$9/6
Around Rasht
FUMAN ‫ﻓﻮﻣﻦ‬
% 0132 / POP 36,000 / ELEV 34M
Gilan’s main attractions are wooded hinter-
land villages accessed via Fuman. Once the
capital of Gilan, Fuman is a leafy junction
town, its boulevards lined with date palms,
plane trees and numerous tacky plaster-
cast statues. The mountains on its south-
west horizon stay snow-topped well into
April, though it’s often too hazy to see them.
Fuman is the most famous place to buy
klucheh fuman, typical Gilan cookies filled
with walnut paste, available hot from the
oven at several bakeries around town. Savaris
to Rasht leave from a bizarrely hidden yard
at the northeastern edge of town. West of
the bazaar at Velayet Faghi Sq, the roads to
Masuleh (Blvd Imamzadeh Mirza) and to
Qal’eh Rudkhan divide; savaris to either leave
from 400m up each respective road.
QAL’EH RUDKHAN ‫ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺭﻭﺩﺧﺎﻥ‬
ELEV 593M
This very impressive Seljuk-era mountain
fortress (admission US$1; h8am-5pm) covers
the top of an idyllic wooded butte ringed by
a curl of forested mountain. The ruins of the
brick ramparts are relatively complete, with
many photogenic towers, arches and wall
sections calcified white with age or tufted
with wild flowers. Access requires a steep,
sweaty but gorgeous 50-minute walk start-
ing out along a streamside full of mossy
rocks then climbing pebble-studded concrete
steps to the chorus of birdsong and tapping
woodpeckers. The trailhead is beyond a pair
of teahouses at Qal’eh Daneh hamlet. That’s
7km (US$1 by motorbike taxi) from Qal’eh
Rudkhan village to which five-in-a-Paykan
savaris from Fuman cost US$1 per person.
1 31
DURATION DEPARTURES
18hr 11am, 2.30pm
12hr 6pm
8hr hourly 7am-2pm & 7-10pm
9hr 9am, 11am, 6pm
16hr 2.30pm
10hr 4-8pm
5hr frequent
WESTERN IR AN A
Even if you don’t make the climb, the
25-minute drive from Fuman to Qal’eh
Daneh is delightful, crossing rice paddies
and skirting hills with neat green-tea hair-
8ROUND RASHT
cuts. If cloud and rain make climbing im-
practical, a scale model of the castle in Rasht
Museum (p101) shows what you missed.
LAHIJAN & AROUND ‫ﻻﻫﻴﺠﺎﻥ ﻭ ﺍﻃﺮﺍﻑ‬
% 0141 / POP 61,000 / ELEV 5M
Famed for its tea, Lahijan is one of Gilan’s
oldest towns with some tree-lined charm to
its main streets.
Several minor sights are ranged around
central Vahdat Sq. These include the Masjed-
e Jameh (Jameh Mosque; pierced by a blue-
tipped brick minaret) and a charmingly run-
down old men-only domed hammam (shower/
massage US$3; h6am-7pm). Across the square is
the tile-roofed Chahar Padeshah Mosque.
Some of its famed carved wooden doors have
been removed to Tehran’s National Museum,
but there are attractive pseudo-medieval-
styled murals on the front wall.
Alleyways around Vahdat Sq hide a few
old buildings with mossy, tiled roofs, notably
the intriguing Akbariyeh Mosque (4th West
Kashef Alley).
A kilometre further east, the austere, grey
Mausoleum of Kashef-ol-Saltaneh (%224
1003; East Kashef St; admission US$1; h8am-6pm
Tue-Sun) entombs the man who is credited
with introducing tea cultivation to Iran (see
boxed text, p104). It houses a slightly under-
whelming museum of tea paraphernalia.
The easternmost 800m of Kashef St climbs
Sheitan Kuh (Satan’s Mountain), a tree-covered
ridge fringed with tea gardens. It’s crowded
on Friday with local tourists enjoying fine
views over Lahijan’s rectangular lake. A
cable-car (10 min ride return US$6; h9am-dusk)
whisks sightseers across to another neigh-
bouring hilltop that’s slightly higher.
1 32
The blue, pyramidal roof of the distinctive
wooden Sheikh Zahed Mausoleum (Boq’eh
Sheikh Zahed; admission by donation) is Lahijan’s
architectural icon. The holy man buried
here supposedly lived to the ripe old age
of 116 (1218–1334). The present mausoleum
was rebuilt after a devastating 1913 fire. It’s
in a quiet, rural setting 2.3km east of the ar-
tificial lakeside cascade at the base of Shei-
tan Kuh. Take the small tea-field lane that
parallels the main Ramsar road (from which
the mausoleum can also be glimpsed).
WESTERN IR AN M
Of several attractive villages in the ap-
pealing semi-alpine mountain hinterland,
the best known is Deilaman (60km).
4 Sleeping & Eating
Tourist Inn HOTEL $$
(Mehmansara Jahangardi; %223 3051; off Sepah Sq;
tw US$45; pa) Comfortable, well-equipped
S LAESEUPLI ENHG & E AT I N G
rooms with a perfect central location and a
restaurant that overlooks the western edge
of the lake.
Chaharfasl Mehmankhaneh HOTEL $
(%222 3222; Shohada Sq; tw/tr without bathroom
US$9/10; a) Well-kept if basic rooms with
fridge and TV share separate bathrooms up
steps marked ‘Drawing Room’. Some rooms
are windowless.
Several snack bars and kababis lie along Ka-
rimi St that links Shohada and Vahdat Sqs
perpendicular to Kashef St.
8 Getting There & Away
Savaris from Rasht (US$1, 45 minutes) arrive
at Vahdat Sq and leave (unofficially) from near
Shohoda Sq. Minibuses (US$0.50) and official
savaris use Entezam Sq about 1.5km further
west. For Ramsar and Chalus transport leaves
from near Basij Sq, a junction 200m northeast
of the Tourist Inn.
Masuleh ‫ﻣﺎﺳﻮﻟﻪ‬
% 0132 / POP 1500 / ELEV 969M
At least a millennium old, Masuleh is one of
Iran’s most beautiful villages. Rising through
mist-draped forests, earth-coloured houses
climb a cupped mountainside so steeply that
the roof of one forms the pathway for the
next. In summer, day-tripping local tourists
merrily fill its appealing tea-terraces, seek
out its two minuscule museums and peruse
the tiny bazaar’s trinket and halva shops. To
avoid the coach-tour hordes, stay overnight,
hike the surrounding mountains or visit in
winter when few tourists visit.
4 Sleeping & Eating
Many villagers rent out rooms (d from US$15),
which makes for a great way to experience
rural Gilan.
Mehran Hotel HOTEL $$
(Mehran Suites; %757 2096; apt US$17-27) At the
back of the village, rooms here are great
value with bathrooms, kitchenettes, up to
six beds and terraces with photo-perfect vil-
lage views.
Mehmanpazir Navid HOTEL $$
(%757 2288, 0911-239 6459; apt US$25-35)
Nearer the bazaar, this place has surpr-
isingly sizable studio apartments with fold-
out couches and a kitchenette.
Monfared Hotel HOTEL $$
(%757 2050; s/d US$17/28) At the base of the
village where savaris arrive, this older hotel
has 26 timber-walled rooms with bathroom
and tiled floors. Mr Nabizadeh speaks some
English.
On sunny days, the best places for delicious
mirza ghasemi are the terraces at Khaneh
Mo’allem Restaurant (%757 2122; meals
US$4-6; h12.30-3.30pm & 7.30-9.30pm), behind
the Monfared Hotel, and especially the Me-
hran Hotel’s superbly situated cafe balcony.
8 Getting There & Away
From Fuman, minibuses/savaris (US$0.50/1,
45 minutes) are regular in summer, but rare in
winter. The forest scenery en route is charming
and around halfway there’s a brilliant traditional
thatched Gilani house at the western edge of
Makhlavan (Makelun) village, now the backdrop
for a roadside teahouse.
Ramsar ‫ﺭﺍﻣﺴﺮ‬
ELEV -15M
The tiresome Caspian coast road offers
barely a glimpse of beach, but at Ramsar
mountains and sea conjoin fairly attrac-
tively. A grand avenue of palmyra palms
sweeps up from the tatty seafront to the
wonderful Ramsar Grand Hotel (%522
3592; old wing s/d/ste US$55/70/100; pa). Its
‘old wing’ lobby oozes neocolonial charm
and the manicured rear gardens are impres-
sive. Rooms are somewhat less luxurious but
fair value, especially if you opt for a more
spacious suite. Avoid the new wing, a drear-
ily ordinary 1970s concrete-box appendage
(20% cheaper). Just five minutes’ walk west,

the Caspian Museum (%522 5374; Motahhari
St; admission US$1; h8am-3pm winter, 8am-1pm &
4-8pm summer) is housed in the 1937 summer
palace of Reza Shah. In between, a (male-
only) hammam is ideal for relaxing the
muscles after the trek from Alamut (p115).
Westbound savaris use Imam Khomeini
Sq. Eastbound (from Basij Sq) you’ll usually
have to change savaris in Tonekabon (aka
Shahsavar) for Chalus via Abbasabad where
a forest road short-cuts to Kelardasht.
Chalus & Noshahr
‫ﭼﺎﻟﻮﺱ ﻭ ﻧﻮﺷﻬﺮ‬
% 0191 / POP 83,000 / ELEV -15M
Of these twin towns, Noshahr (Nowshahr) is
the more attractive, with palm trees, mani-
cured gardens and a neat little bazaar around
central Azadi Sq. The main reason to come is
to use the spectacular Chalus-Karaj road that
starts at Mo’allem Sq in Chalus (marked by
a tall telephone mast). From this square, 17
Shahrivar St leads west across a bridge into
central Chalus while Noshahr Blvd leads
east passing the Malek and Kourosh Hotels
(2km) and airport (4km) before reaching
central Noshahr (6km) at Jameh Mosque Sq.
Azadi Sq is a block further.
4 Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Malek HOTEL $$
(%222 4107; Oshahr Blvd, Chalus; s/d/tr/ste
US$20/30/40/80; pais) Stylish rooms
have pleasing decor, bathrooms and good-
sized double beds. Suites have playful mod-
ernist furniture. The outdoor pool operates
summer only. The hip restaurant (hnoon-
3.30pm, 8-11pm) has a fine menu (in English)
ranging from steaks and fish dishes (US$5 to
US$7) to mirza ghasemi (US$2).
Shahlizar Hotel HOTEL $$
(%325 0001; fax 323 2090; Azadi Sq, Noshahr; tw
US$18-30; a) Comfortable, cosy rooms have
cutesy straw bows decorating their doors.
Manager Maziyar speaks some English and
is keen to show guests the beautiful views
(to mountains and port) from the 5th-floor
rooftop (no lift). It’s conveniently positioned
right at the heart of Noshahr.
Kourosh Hotel HOTEL $$
(%222 3940; fax 222 4174; Noshahr Blvd, Chalus; tw
US$25-50; pas) Across the road from the
Malek, rooms here have pine-fresh interiors,
there’s a courtyard cafe, trendy coffee shop,
fitness room, sauna and small pool.
133
8 Getting There & Around
Iran Aseman (%322 5217; Karimi St, Noshahr;
h7am-4pm) has twice weekly flights to both
Tehran (US$28) and Mashhad (US$50).
To Tehran, buses (US$8) and more frequent
savaris (US$9) leave from a small terminal on
the Karaj road, 1.5km south of Mo’allem Sq.
Savaris to Kelardasht (US$1, one hour) leave
from an adjacent yard.
Around Chalus
WESTERN IR AN C
NAMAK ABRUD ‫ﻧﻤﻚ ﺁﺑﺮﻭﺩ‬
For extraordinary Caspian views take the
long Namak Abrud cable car (telecabine;
%0192-246 2012; admission US$6; h10am-3pm),
up 1050m Mt Medovin. The ropeway station
is 2km off the main Rasht highway, 14km
west of Chalus. Dress up warmly and expect
S LHEAELPUISN G& &N OE SAT
the unexpected from notoriously antisocial
clouds.
KELARDASHT ‫ﻛﻼﺭﺩﺷﺖ‬
% 0192 / POP 23,100 / ELEV 1248M
Cupped between towering, broad-shoul-
dered peaks, Kelardasht is nicknamed the
H IANHGR
‘Paradise of Iran’. It’s probably the most
popular Caspian-area getaway for nature-
loving Tehranis. Surrounding areas offer
trout fishing, cross-country skiing, trekking,
mountain climbing and plenty of cool fresh
summer air. The mountain panorama ap-
proaching Kelardasht from Marzanabad is
particularly impressive with several spec-
tacular views of snow-toothed Alam Kuh
soaring behind the town. At Kaleno an 11km
part-paved road leads up to much-vaunted
Valasht Mountain Lake.
Kelardasht’s commercial centre is Has-
ankeif where most of the shops, banks and
an internet cafe are clustered close to Has-
ankeif Sq. More traditional Rudbarak starts
around 5km south of Hasankeif. It’s closer
to the mountains and the starting point for
most hikes, though with fewer direct views.
Here, amid the holiday homes, you can still
find a few old log-framed barns and houses
with slate or wood-slat roofs anchored down
with rocks.
2 Activities
The Alborz offers climbers a selection of
4000m peaks, including Alam Kuh (Mt
Alam), which at 4850m is Iran’s third tallest
and most technical. An 800m near-vertical
granite wall makes the mountain’s north
face a special challenge for climbers, though
there are much easier alternative routes to
the top. Ascents start 20km from Rudbarak
134
(which is just south of Kelardasht). Before
starting you should sign in (and pay US$30
peak fees) at the Mountaineering Federa-
tion (Federasion-e-Kuh Navardi; %264 2626; Tohid
St, Rudbarak; hcall ahead), 7.4km from Has-
ankeif Sq. Staff here can help arrange mules
and guides, can show you climbing maps
and sell a great set of postcards with sug-
gested climbing routes marked onto photos
of various peaks.
For Alam Kuh, it takes at least a day to
trek to one of two base-camp huts. Hesar-
WESTERN IR AN QA
chal offers the easier summit approach.
For the wall, use the climbers’ hut at Sar-
chal (3900m) and continue to a cwm called
Alamchal (4150m). Climbing the wall itself
is a very serious undertaking even for highly
experienced mountaineers.
From Sarchal it’s also possible to climb
S I GZHVTI S
Mt Takht-e Soleiman, at the other end of
the main knife-edge ridge, but there’s a lot
of bolder-jumping on the glacier and plenty
N
of slippery scree. Note: this is the peak that
Freya Stark wandered up almost by mistake
in her book Castles of the Assassins. How-
ever, it is not the Takht-e Soleiman citadel
near Takab (p118).
4 Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Azarbayjan HOMESTAY $$
(%262 2678; Mahestan 3rd lane off Nasiri St,
Hasankeif; tr US$25-50) Cheap by Kelardasht
standards, this overgrown homestay is just
500m from Hasankeif Sq via Modarres St
(fork left then right). Rooms have gas stove,
fridge, bathroom and three squeezed-in
beds. Those with sitting rooms cost US$10
extra. The communal dining terrace is good
for meeting other guests.
Hotel Park Chaman HOTEL $$
(%264 3159; Park Chaman, Rudbarak; small/large
ste US$30/55, bungalows US$60) Almost 7km
from Hasankeif Sq, 700m before the Moun-
taineering Federation, look for the obvious
blue-roofed modernist restaurant across the
river. While not entirely tasteful, the suites
are well-equipped with bathtub, choice of
toilets and a balcony (no mountain views).
The peaceful location is a good starting
point for hikes.
Arash Restaurant TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(%262 8312; Hasankeif Sq; meals US$3-7;
h11am-3.30pm & 7.30-10pm) This is a bright,
clean pine-ceilinged restaurant offering
Iranian and Caspian favourites right on
Hasankeif Sq.
8 Getting There & Around
Savaris to Chalus (US$1, one hour) and Tehran
(back/front US$9/11, 3½ hours) leave from a
stand 400m north of the square. Buses (US$6,
five hours) to Tehran’s western terminal leave
from the tiny Rahat Safar/Talayi Safar office in
Zibardast, 3km east of Hasankeif departing at
8am and 2pm in either direction.
Transport within Kelardasht usually requires
chartering a taxi (%262 9191) at US$7 per
hour).
Qazvin ‫ﻗﺰﻭﻳﻦ‬
% 0281 / POP 342,000 / ELEV 1301M
Qazvin is famed for carpets and seedless
grapes. The city was once capital of all Iran
and has a considerable sprinkling of minor
sights, but for most Western travellers its
foremost role is as a launch point for excur-
sions to the famous Castles of the Assassins
in the marvellous Alamut Valley.
History
Founded by the Sassanian king Shapur I
in the 3rd century AD, Qazvin prospered
under the Seljuk rulers, who erected many
fine buildings. It had a second, much later
burst of prominence when the second Safa-
vid shah, Tahmasp I (r 1524–76), transferred
the Persian capital here from Tabriz. A great
patron of the arts, his ambitious architec-
tural plan for Qazvin proved to be only a
dress rehearsal for Esfahan, where his suc-
cessor, Shah Abbas I, set up court in 1598.
The city centre is Azadi Sq, widely known
as Sabz Meydan. The bazaar and alleys to its
southeast are the most atmospheric areas
for random strolling.
1 Sights
AROUND AZADI SQUARE &
THE BAZAAR
Chehel Sotun ‫ﭼﻬﻠﺴﺘﻮﻥ‬ PALACE
When Qazvin took its turn as Iran’s capital,
this attractive, colonnaded cube was Shah
Tahmasp’s royal palace. Built in 1510, it
was greatly remodelled in the Qajar era.
Set in the town’s little central park it looks
especially photogenic at night, with its
delicate balustrades floodlit and its back-lit
coloured-glass windows glowing through
the foliage. Inside is a calligraphy museum
(%223 3320; admission US$0.50; h9am-1pm &
5-8.30pm).
Qazvin Museum MUSEUM
(%223 4935; Helel-e-Ahmar St; admission US$1;
h9am-12.30pm & 4-6.30pm winter, 9am-12.30pm
 135
& 5-7.30pm summer, closed Mon) This spacious (Jameh Mosque) has huge iwans and a fine
modern museum predominantly features marble mihrab.
19th-century decorative arts but the bottom
floor has some 3000-year-old bronzes and Aminiha Hosseiniyeh TRADITIONAL HOUSE

ceramics from the Alamut Valley.
Bazaar & Craft workshops BAZAAR
The fascinating covered bazaar amply re-
pays idle wandering. At the east end of
the fine Bazaar-e Vazim, Saroye Vazir is
stacked high with bundled old carpets. It’s
one of several wonderfully down-at-heel
caravanserais between which you’ll still
(Molavi St at Amin Deadend; admission US$1;
h9am-1pm & 5-8pm). Tucked away in a walled
rose garden is the well-preserved 1773 Amin-
iha Hosseiniyeh. It’s a private mansion that
doesn’t look much from the outside, but has
a splendidly gaudy wood, glass and mirror
interior and a refreshingly cool, brick vault-
ed basement. A great place to unwind and
write up your diary in peace.

WESTERN IR AN QA
find the odd door-maker and metal work-
shop. A cushion maker reveals his craft in Imamzadeh-ye Hossein IMAMZADEH

an alley off Molavi St and, further south-
east, there’s a traditional shoemaker near
Shohada Sq.
The very appealing Qajar-era Nabi (Shah)
This large, well-proportioned shrine has a
Qajar facade, a 16th-century blue dome and
plenty of new mirror tiling. It commemo-
rates a son of Imam Reza and is convivially
set in a big fountain courtyard surrounded by

S I GZHVTI N
Mosque with its Mogul-style topknots also coloured-brick alcoves. Behind is a martyrs’
has an impressively expansive courtyard. graveyard and an aged fighter plane on a pole.

The 20th-century Kantur Church (Borj-e-
Naghus) has a blue-brick belfry dome and
sits in a tiny Russian graveyard.
OTHER LOCATIONS
Built in 1115, but extensively remodelled in
the early 17th century, the Masjed-e Jameh
S
Cisterns ARCHITECTURE
Qazvin has some of Iran’s best-preserved
domed cisterns where water was stored un-
derground and cooled by wind towers. Sadly
getting in is rarely possible so don’t make a
special trip, but if you’re passing the most

CASTLES OF THE ASSASSINS

In the 12th century, a network of incredibly well fortified Alborz mountain castles sheltered
the followers of Hasan-e Sabbah (1070–1124), spiritual leader of Islam’s heretical Ismaili
sect. In popular myth, Sabbah led a bizarre, much-feared mercenary organisation whose
members were dispatched to murder or kidnap leading political and religious figures of the
day. They believed that their actions would transport them to paradise. Supposedly Sab-
bah cunningly cultivated such beliefs by showing them beautiful secret gardens filled with
enticing young maidens while unwittingly stoned on hashish. This gave them their popular
name ‘Hashish-iyun’, root of the modern English term ‘assassin’. Or so the story goes. Peter
Willey’s book, Eagle’s Nest, gives an altogether more sympathetic version portraying Has-
an Sabbah as a champion of the free-thinking, pro-science Islamic tradition and suggesting
that the hashish tales were fabricated exaggerations designed to denigrate Ismaili Islam.
Whatever the truth, most of the impregnable Ismaili castles were captured by Hulagu
Khan in 1256 using diplomatic trickery, having earlier forced the surrender of the Ismailis’
spiritual leader (Sabbah’s successor). Only two fortresses, Girdkuh and Lamiasar, decid-
ed to put up a fight. Thanks to their sophisticated water cisterns and vast food reserves
they could hold out for years, 17 years in the case of Girdkuh! Before moving on, the Mon-
gols systematically destroyed the castles’ fortifications to avoid future difficulties. That
means today it’s history and brilliant scenery more than the scanty rubble that draws the
few travellers that make it here.
The crushing of Alamut Castle was effectively the end of the Ismailis for generations
though believers resurfaced centuries later and now Ismaili Islam is the predominant
faith in parts of Tajikistan and northern Pakistan (though not at all in Iran).
The castles were forgotten and only returned to public consciousness with the publi-
cation of Dame Freya Stark’s 1930s travel diary Valleys of the Assassins. A copy of that
recently reprinted volume makes a great companion for the trip.
1 36

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WESTERN IR AN QA

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impressive from outside are the Sardar cis- 2pm Fri) is the best known of Qazvin’s tradi-
terns and the Haji Kazem Cistern with its tional subterranean bathhouses to remain
well-preserved wind tower. active. The domed central rest area is attrac-
tive. Men only.
Gates ARCHITECTURE
Tehran Gate (Darvazeh-e-Qadim-e-Tehran) and
Rah Kushk Gate (Darbe Kousht; Naderi St) are
2 Activities
Qazvin is a good place to prepare for hikes in
two dinky little Qajar decorative remnants
the Alamut area. Mehdi Babayi (%0912-682
of Qazvin’s once-vast city walls. The much
3228) is an experienced trekking and climb-
more massive Ali Qapu (Helel-e-Ahmar St)
ing guide who pays attention to key safety
was originally a 16th-century gateway to
details, even though his organisation can
the royal precinct, a kind of forbidden in-
seem somewhat haphazard.
ner city. Today it’s a police post so don’t take
photographs.
4 Sleeping
Tourist maps mark dozens of other historic Hotel Iran HOTEL $

buildings, but few are at all visually exciting. (%222 8877; Peyghambarieh St; s/tw US$40/55)
Even the colourfully domed 14th-century This popular traveller favourite manages
Amineh Khatun shrine, with its fine blue to be simultaneously quiet yet eminently
conical spire and Kufic script, seems for- central. The pleasant, decently furnished
lornly lost in the warren of banal modern rooms are great value with good bathrooms
backstreets. The Safa Hammam (Molavi St at and central air-con – if they turn it on!
Taqavi Alley; bath US$1; h7am-7pm Sat-Thu, 7am- Owner Karim Noruzi speaks good English,

Qazvin
æ Sights
1 Ali Qapu..................................................B3
2 Amineh Khatun Shrine.........................C3
3 Aminiha Hosseiniyeh............................A3
4 Bazaar ....................................................B2
Calligraphy Museum .................... (see 5)
5 Chehel Sotun.........................................B2
6 Imamzadeh-ye Hossein .......................B4
7 Jameh Mosque......................................B3
8 Kantur Church.......................................C2
9 Nabi (Shah) Mosque ............................B2
10 Qazvin Museum ....................................C2
11 Safa Hammam ......................................A3
12 Sardar Big Cistern ............................... C4
13 Sardar Smaller Cistern ........................A3
14 Tehran Gate.......................................... D4
ÿ Sleeping
15 Alborz Hotel...........................................C2
16 Hotel Iran ...............................................B2
17 Khaksar Hotel........................................C2
ú Eating
18 Chaykhaneh Aqaqia .............................B2
19 Eghbali....................................................C2
20 Nobahar .................................................A2
21 Yas ..........................................................C2
þ Shopping
22 Cushion-Maker......................................A2
23 Nakhajir Camping Shop.......................C2
24 Traditional Shoemaker ........................B4
ï Transport
25 Arash Safar............................................C2
26 Main Bus Terminal............................... D4
27 Shuttle Taxis to Valiasr Sq ................. D4
28 Shuttle Taxis to Valiasr Sq ..................B2
29 Shuttle Taxis via Ali Qapu to
Takestan Minibus Stand...................B2
but compare options before signing up to
his Alamut trips.
Alborz Hotel HOTEL $$
(%/fax 222 6631; www.alborzhotel.com; Taleqani
Blvd; s/tw US$41/66; ai) This appealing mid-
range option has small but fully equipped
modern rooms with golden bedcovers, tow-
els and BBC World TV. Staff are very helpful
and the lobby coffee shop makes a pleasant-
ly low-key meeting point.
Khaksar Hotel MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%222 4239; Khaleqi Alley; s/d/tr US$12/15/18)
Neat, spacious rooms with shared bath-
1 37
rooms. Better than most other Qazvin
mosaferkhanehs.
5 Eating & Drinking
Qazvin’s local speciality is qimeh nasar
(also spelt gheymeh nasser), a tangy lamb
stew made with diced pistachios.
Nobahar TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(Bazar Dimaj; mains US$1-5; h10am-4pm Sat-
Thu) This is a fairly large, comparatively
low-stress bazaar eatery that serves stews
(including qimeh nasar), which you can
WESTERN IR AN QA
choose by pointing at the relevant kitchen
cauldron.
Hezardasan TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(%335 0100; Hafezi Alley, off Khayyam St; meals
US$3-5; h11.30am-3.30pm & 7-11pm) At the
upmarket northern end of Khayyam St, He-
E ATZIVNIG
zardasan makes a valiant attempt at giving
its cellar room that sofrakhane sonati (old-
style teahouse) feel, but the overall effect is
N & DRINKING
a little too neat to be memorable. Its deli-
cious qimeh nasar comes mounded into
barberry rice.
Eghbali TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%223 3347; Taleqani St; mains US$4-10; h11am-
4pm & 7-10pm) Prices are high and despite
the odd fake stone frieze there isn’t much
atmosphere. Nonetheless it’s popular with
travellers for its English menu and reliable
food.
The convivially crowded Yas, (off Taleqani
Blvd) in a dead-end alley opposite Alborz Ho-
tel, is cheap. There are several similar res-
taurants on Ayatollah Khamenei Blvd east
of Valiasr Sq.
Chaykhaneh Aqaqia TEAHOUSE $
(off Imam Khomeini St; tea US$0.20; h8am-10pm
Sat-Thu) This wonderfully unpretentious,
cheap and down-market all-male teahouse
has chess and nard to play. Easily missed,
the entrance is on the left off a covered
access-way to the workaday Sadd Sultani
caravanserai.
Shopping
The Nakhajir Camping Shop (%222 4551;
Ferdosi St; h8am-1pm & 4-9pm Sat-Thu) sells
great-value camping gear including head
torches (from US$6), sprung hiking sticks
(US$9) and 1:300,000 Farsi maps of the Al-
borz (US$1).
138
8 Information 2km east of Valiasr Sq. Razmiyan savaris (per
person/car US$2/10, 1¼ hours) depart very
Internet Access
occasionally from Istgah Razmiyan (Helalabad
All charge US$1 per hour. Sq off Sa’di St): to get there take a shuttle taxi
Parsee Coffeenet (%223 0119; Tous Deadend, up Naderi St to Sardaran Sq, walk a block west
off Khayyam St; h9am-midnight) along Beheshti St then 300m southwest down
Shahbda Coffeenet (%223 9093; Modarres Shahid Fayazbakhsh St.
Blvd; h9.30am-10pm Sat-Thu, 10am-11pm Fri) For Rasht, savaris depart from Darvazeh
Rasht (Enqelab Sq) where some through buses
Money also pick up/drop off.
Sharifi Exchange (Ferdosi St; h9am-1pm &
5-8pm Sat-Thu) Train
Tourist Information The best-timed trains to Tehran (US$2.50, two
WESTERN IR AN A

hours) depart at 8.30am and 10.35am. For

Tourist information booth (%335 4708; www
Zanjan (2½ hours) handy trains leave at 8am
.qazvintourism.com; Naderi St; h8am-12.30pm
and 5.40pm. There are useful sleeper trains
& 5-7pm Sat-Thu) Facing the historic Rah Kushk
to Tabriz at 9.10pm (US$6, 11 hours) and to
Gate, this is one of Iran’s most professional
Mashhad at 8.45pm, but tickets can be in short
tourist information offices, offering great free
supply.
maps and useful brochures (partly in English).
It can arrange guides to get you into normally
8 Getting Around
8 L A M U T VA L L E Y

closed architectural curiosities and has masses

more detailed information available.
Travel Agents
Arash Safar Travel (%222 2260; Helel-e-
Ahmar St; h8am-1pm & 4-8pm Sat-Thu) Can
book train tickets for you and sells air tickets
ex-Tehran.
8 Getting There & Away
Bus, Minibus & Savari
Handy services from the main bus terminal
(Darvazeh Sq) are included in the boxed text,
above.
Official Tehran savaris leave from outside
(US$3). Unofficial ones pick up at Valiasr Sq.
Cranky buses run to Hir (via Razmiyan)
around 11am and to Mo’allem Kalayeh (US$1,
2½ hours) around 1.30pm (not Friday). However,
for these Alamut Valley destinations, savaris are
vastly better. Mo’allem Kalayeh savaris (US$5,
1¾ hours) depart from gigantic Qaribqosh Sq,
City buses run both ways along the main drag
(Imam Khomeini St/Taleqani Blvd), but cars and
shuttle taxis can only use it eastbound, return-
ing from Valiasr Sq to central Azadi Sq (Sabz
Meydan) via Shahrdari or Buali Sts. From the
centre to the bus terminal change at Valiasr Sq.
From the terminal to Azadi Sq loop around via
the bazaar.
Alamut Valley ‫ﺍﻟﻤﻮﺕ‬
ELEV 1400M
Few places in Iran offer a more tempting
invitation to hike, explore and reflect than
the fabled Alamut and Shahrud Valleys. Be-
neath soaring Alborz peaks, the landscapes
are inspirational and delightfully varied,
with scenic suggestions of Patagonia, Swit-
zerland, central Australia and Syria all
spiced by a uniquely fascinating medieval

BUSES FROM QAZVIN

DEPARTURES &
DESTINATION FARE DURATION COMPANY
Esfahan US$14 6hr 1pm Talayi, Taavoni 6
Hamadan US$5 3½hr 7am Seiro Safar
Hamadan (VIP) US$8 3½hr 2pm Seiro Safar
Kermanshah US$7 7hr 7.45am, 2.30pm Seiro
Safar
Mashhad US$11 18hr 2pm, 2.30pm Talayi
Rasht US$2 3hr 7.45am, 2.45pm Alborz
7.30am, 3pm TBT
Tehran US$3 2½hr frequent

history. Nestled almost invisibly on widely
spread rocky knolls and pinnacles lie the
shattered remnants of over 50 ruined for-
tresses. Shrouded in fabulous myths, they
were the heavily fortified lairs of the medi-
eval world’s most feared religious cult and
are collectively known as the Castles of
the Assassins (see boxed text, p109). The
most interesting are at Gazor Khan (Alamut
Castle) and Razmiyan (Lamiasar Castle). Be-
ware that Alamut Castle is NOT in Alamut
town (aka Mo’allem Kalayeh).
Using a mix of savaris and taxis it’s pos-
sible to visit both Razmiyan (65km) and
Gazor Khan (110km) in a long day trip from
Qazvin. But it’s much more fun to take your
time, sleeping a night or three at Gazor
Khan to do some trekking. If you can man-
age enough Farsi to charter a taxi there’s no
real reason to take a guide, though a knowl-
edgeable historian could help bring to life
the castles’ bare stones.
A guide (or at least a bag-carrying mule
and mule-driver) is wise, however, if you’re
planning a multiday, cross-Alborz trek into
the Caspian hinterland.
RAZMIYAN &
LAMIASAR CASTLE ‫ﻻﻣﻴﺎﺳﺮ‬
‫ﺭﺍﺯﻣﻴﺎﻥ ﻭ ﮐﺎﺥ‬
% 0272 / POP 1800 / ELEV 1684M
The winding descent into Razmiyan from
Qazvin passes some timeless mud hamlets
and gives wonderful views over the Shahrud
Valley’s rice terraces.
Central Razmiyan itself is a strangely
soulless place but a handily central taxi
agency (%322 2828) makes it easy to ar-
range onward transport if you’ve arrived by
savari. A taxi costs US$4 up to the Lamiasar
Castle access path (2.5km towards Hir).
From there it’s an obvious 20-minute stroll
to the top edge of the castle where a rem-
nant hint of round bastion and some other
wall chunks remain. The castle site sweeps
down from here to outer-wall remnants that
drop vertically into the valley below. Allow
at least an hour to seek out the various de-
graded fortifications, enjoy the birdsong and
meet the lizards. Bring a hat and sunscreen
as there’s minimal shade.
There’s no formal accommodation in
Razmiyan. A taxi to Mo’allem Kalayeh costs
US$12, or US$15 if you tack on an 8km de-
tour to Evan Lake en route. With its power-
ful mountain backdrop, the tiny lake would
be stunningly beautiful if it weren’t for
nearby power lines and muddy car-washing
spots.
1 39
MO’ALLEM KALAYEH
& ANDEJ ‫ﻣﻌﻠﻢ ﻛﻼﻳﻪ & ﺍﻧﺪﺝ‬
% 0282 / POP 4700 / ELEV 1817M
Sometimes called Alamut town, Mo’allem
Kalayeh is the Alamut Valley’s one-street
district centre. It’s a useful transport staging
post for the region but not a sight in itself.
If you get stuck here, Haddodi Restaurant
(%321 6362; 2-/6-bed r US$11/16) rents two
very simple rooms. It’s on the main street
50m east of the eagle statue. The town cen-
tre, where rare buses and savaris loiter, is
600m further east. Savaris to Qazvin (US$5)
WESTERN IR AN A
are an hour quicker than the dreadfully slow
bus (US$1, daily except Friday) that departs
once feeder buses from outlying villages
have arrived. For Gazor Khan taxi charters
cost US$6, or US$11 including a side trip to
Andej en route. Or take the returning school
bus around 11.45am.
8 L A M U T VA L L E Y
The 8km road-spur to Andej (elev 1587m)
passes beside three truly awesome red-rock
side-canyons, somewhat reminiscent of the
Olgas (in central Australia). The turnoff
is just northwest of Shahrak, which has a
prominent (but not Assassin-related) castle
ruin.
GAZOR KHAN &
ALAMUT CASTLE ‫ﮔﺎﺯﺭﺧﺎﻥ ﻭ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺍﻟﻤﻮﺕ‬
% 0282 / ELEV 2062M
The region’s greatest attraction is the fa-
bled ruin of Alamut Castle (admission US$1;
hdawn-dusk), Hasan-e Sabbah’s famous for-
tress site. The site is a dramatic crag rising
abruptly above the pleasant, unpretentious
little cherry-growing village of Gazor Khan.
The access path starts about 700m beyond
the village square and requires a steep,
sweaty 25-minute climb via an obvious
stairway. On top, archaeological workings
are shielded by unsightly corrugated metal
sheeting. But the phenomenal views from
the ramparts are unmissable.
Several tempting mountain hikes start in
Gazor Khan or Khoshkchal village, a steep,
15-minute 4WD ride beyond. Route sugges-
tions are extensively described in a helpful
travellers’ tip book at the charming Hotel
Koosaran (%377 3377; dm US$6) in Gazor
Khan. That’s effectively just the guest room
in Ali Samie’s family home. It can sleep up to
five, curled up on cotton mattresses on the
floor. Simple but tasty meals are available
(US$2) if you ask ahead and the flat roof
facing Gazor Khan’s village square makes a
great people-watching perch.
Managed by a Grimm’s fairy-tale crone,
the Golestan Inn (%377 3312; r/’ste’ US$15/18)
 8 L A M U T VA L L E Y
WESTERN IR AN A 140

20 km
Alamut Valley # 00
e 10 miles

#
\ Hir

Bahramabad V # Lamiasar
#
\
#
\
Castle
Razmiyan
#
\
Falar

#
\ Kuchenan Yuj \
# Evan
æ #
Lake #
\
#
\ Sutehkesh
#
\ Andej #
\
Qazimahaleh
#
\ Rajayi Khoshkhal
Dasht Mo'allem Kelayeh \
# Canyon #
æ Maran
V
# Alamut #
\
(Alamut Town) Canyon æ # Gazor \ Castle #
\
# Salajanbar\
#
#
\ Zereshk Canyon æ
# Khan Kulumlar
Salambar c Pichebon
Shuta á
Pass #
#
\ Caravanserai
Shahrak Khan Zavarak
#
\ #
\ \
# Pichebon
Garmarud
#
\ R
Mt Nargiz
#
\ Avank
#
\ Razjero
Rasht- \
#
e Qun

Savari Stand
for Mo'allem
Kelayeh
Qazvin ]
# #̃
Qaribkosh Sq
£
#
Qazvin
Train
Station

offers rather tatty accommodation amid
trees on the slight rise that directly overlooks
the stairway to Alamut Rock. The ‘rooms’
share a decent kitchen and a grotty squat
toilet. The ‘suites’ are a pair of semidetached
concrete houselets with run-down balcony
seats amid overgrown foliage. Kabab meals
cost US$4 (by pre-arrangement).
Hotel Farhangian (%377 3446; tr US$6)
is a converted former school whose former
classrooms now form reasonably well
equipped though not luxurious ‘suites’ with
kitchen and bathroom. Beware that the
place gets locked up when the reception-
ist (a small boy) goes home for his meals!
Bring your own food. There’s no English
sign, but it’s tucked behind the Alamut
Research Centre, up a short driveway that
heads south from the castle trailhead. Don’t
rush to believe locals who tell you it’s closed.
Savaris usually run to Qazvin at around
7am (US$5, 2½ hours). At the same time
there’s a bus to Mo’allem Kalayeh (school
days, US$0.5, 45 minutes). Both leave from
the village square outside Hotel Koosaran.
TREKKING TOWARDS THE CASPIAN:
GARMARUD TO YUJ
Crossing the Alborz on foot from the Alamut
Valley to the Caspian hinterland is geo-
graphically compelling, scenically stunning
and culturally fascinating. You’ll be one of
just a handful of foreigners since Freya Stark
(in the 1930s) to make such a trip, but hurry:
road builders are slowly extending tracks
further and further into the isolated moun-
tain villages and a whole way of life revolv-
ing around donkey transport will soon be a
thing of the past.
The route described here isn’t especially
arduous, though a guide and/or mule-driver
is recommended to avoid difficulties at a few
awkward spots, especially if you attempt the
walk before June, when you’ll be tramping
through treacherous snows on the highest
sections. It’s most pleasant to allow three
days, though two days or even less is quite
possible if you’re in some inexplicable hurry.
(In midsummer you could shorten the walk
by arranging a 4WD to take you as far as
Salajanbar.)
The hike starts in pretty, canyon-framed
Garmarud village, 18km east of the Gazor
Khan turning, where the Alamut Valley
road’s asphalt ends. Whether you walk
or drive, the route goes via picturesque
Pichebon hamlet and across the 3200m
Salambar Pass beside the small, partly
141
renovated (but deserted) Pichebon Cara-
vanserai. There are fabulous views here.
On foot from Garmarud it took us 5½ hours
to that caravanserai (with a guide, short-
cutting through flower-filled meadows and
beneath a waterfall). From the caravanserai
it’s another three hours to Salajanbar, de-
scending very slowly through pretty thorn
shrubs and fields of yellow iris. If you follow
the 4WD track instead of the walking path,
take the right-hand fork an hour beyond the
pass.
Wonderfully picturesque Maran is the
WESTERN IR AN S
last village en route with no semblance of a
road. Walking there from Salajambar takes
three hours and requires fording a stream
twice. While not that hard, it’s potentially
dangerous when the water’s high: slip and
you’ll be washed over a waterfall to certain
8 O LTA N I Y E H
doom.
Another three hours’ downhill hike from
Maran brings you to an un-asphalted road
below pretty Yuj village set in flower-filled
meadows.
4 Sleeping
Homestays make Garmarud a great base
for shorter hikes – ask at Mr Sardeghi’s tiny
Grocery Shop (%379 4008, 0912-682 8991);
he can also help you arrange qotr (mules) to
carry your bags.
At Pichebon, grassy meadows are great
for camping – ask permission in the village.
In Maran village, Nematullah Mansukia
(%0912-282 140; r per person US$10, meals around
US$4) can provide a simple homestay with
great home-cooked meals. By pre-arrange-
ment he can also organise mules from Yuj
(around US$12) or even Garmarud (around
US$30). The village has a tiny, super-rustic
hammam.
8 Getting There & Away
To reach Garmarud, a dar baste (closed door)
savari costs US$10 from Qazvin or US$5 from
Mo’allem Kelayeh. From the end of the hike in
Yuj, a savari to Tonekabon supposedly departs at
8am (US$2, two hours). Otherwise get someone
to phone the savari driver Shabani (% 0911-394
836) from Yuj’s village telephone. Hopefully he’ll
arrive to pick you up within a few hours. Yuj has
an informal baker but no shops so keep some
snacks in reserve for the wait.
Soltaniyeh ‫ﺳﻠﻄﺎﻧﻴﻪ‬
% 0242 / POP 8700 / ELEV 1787M
Little Soltaniyeh (‘Town of the Sultans’)
was purpose-built by the Ilkhanid Mongols
142
as their Persian capital from 1302. But less
than a century later in 1384 it was largely
destroyed by Tamerlane. Fortunately three
fine monuments survived.
1 Sights
Oljeitu Mausoleum MAUSOLEUM
(Gonbad-e Soltaniyeh; admission US$1; h8am-
5pm) By far the most dramatic of the three
monuments is the magnificent mausoleum
built for this Mongol sultan, now a Unesco
World Heritage site. Almost 25m in diame-
WESTERN IR AN Z
ter and 48m high it’s the world’s tallest brick
dome. Inside, renovators’ scaffolding can’t
hide the enormity of the enclosed space. A
ground-floor exhibition illustrates the ongo-
ing restoration process. Spiral stairs within
the hugely thick walls lead up two floors
to a terrace with panoramic views and fine
S IAGNHJTASN
stucco-work vaulting.
The building is named for its sponsor,
Oljeitu Khodabandeh. Oljeitu changed
religions as often as a film star changes
spouses. During his Shiite phase, egged on
by a favourite concubine, he had planned
for the mausoleum to re-house the remains
of Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Mo-
hammed. That would have made it Shiite
Islam’s holiest pilgrimage site outside Mecca
(instead of Najaf, Iraq). However, Oljeitu
couldn’t persuade the Najaf ulema to give
him Ali’s relics and eventually he was buried
here himself in 1317.
Other Buildings HISTORIC BUILDINGS
The mausoleum approach crosses partly re-
built stubs of Soltaniyeh’s citadel wall and
some archaeological excavations (admis-
sion free) of the Mongol-era townscape.
Some 500m southwest of the main com-
plex, the 1330 Khanegah Dervish Monas-
tery (Hamadan Hwy; admission free; h8am-5pm)
has restored cells around a courtyard lead-
ing to the Boq’eh Chelabi-oglu Mausole-
um behind the mihrab of a shattered-sided
former mosque.
From the Oljeitu Mausoleum’s upper ter-
race, it’s easy to spot the lonely blue-domed
Mullah Hasan Kashi tomb (admission free)
in semi-desert, 1.5km south towards the
mountain skyline. It was built by Safavid
Shah Tahmasp to honour Hasan Kashi, a
14th-century mystic whose recasting of Is-
lam’s historical sagas as Persian-language
poetic epics unwittingly had a vast influence
over Shia Islam’s future direction.
8 Getting There & Away
Soltaniyeh is 5km south of the old Zanjan-
Qazvin road, but not accessible from the parallel
motorway. By public transport it’s easiest to
visit as a day trip from Zanjan. Direct savaris
(US$1, 30 minutes) and very irregular minibuses
(US$0.50, 50 minutes) from Zanjan’s Honar-
estan Sq drop you an obvious 10-minute walk
north of the mausoleum.
Zanjan ‫ﺯﻧﺠﺎﻥ‬
% 0241 / POP 367,000 / ELEV 1653M
Hidden in tiny alleys behind its modern
facade, Zanjan retains some attractive
mosques, a fantastic bazaar, a plethora of
knife-grinders and some delightful teahouse
restaurants. The city is a logical base for visi-
ting the impressive Soltaniyeh mausoleum
and a good staging point to reach Takht-e
Soleiman via the scenic Dandy road.
Zanjan city’s moment of infamy came in
1851 with a bloody siege ordered by Persian
prime minister Amir Kabir. The resulting
massacre was part of the relatively successful
campaign to crush the nascent Baha’i reli-
gion. Baha’i-ism had only broken away from
Islam three years before, but was spreading
much too rapidly for Tehran’s liking.
1 Sights
Built in 1926 but looking considerably
older, the unique, unmarked Rakhatshor-
Khaneh (Rakhatshorkhaneh Alley; admission
US$1; h8am-5.30pm Tue-Sun) is a dome-and-
column subterranean hall whose water
channels were originally constructed as a
public laundry-place. It’s dotted with wax
washerwomen to remind you how life was
before Electrolux and Zanussi. There’s also a
calm garden courtyard.
The long, narrow, mostly brick-vaulted
bazaar is inspiring and surrounding alleys
hide half-a-dozen historic mosques. Entered
between copper shops off Enqelab St at the
bazaar’s ungentrified eastern end is the de-
lightfully decrepit yet still-active Dokhtar
Caravanserai. Grandly tiled, the dome
and minarets of the Rasul-Ullah (Sai-ini)
Mosque peep above central Enqelab Sq.
Madraseh cells line the inner courtyard of
the sizable 1826 Masjed-e Jameh (Jameh
Mosque), accessed through a spired portal
on Imam St. Seyid Ibrahim (Imamzadeh)
Mosque is similarly extensive. The dinky
Khanum (Women’s) Mosque has a com-
monly photographed pair of squat pepper-
 6
143

Zanjan e
# 0
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A B
Haf
t-e T æ Sights
Zeina ir St 1 Dokhtar Caravanserai..........................B2
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St #
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t
2 Jameh Mosque......................................A2

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4 Rakhatshor-Khaneh ............................. B1
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#3 #
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# 18
5 Rasul-Ullah (Sai-ini) Mosque ..............B2
14 # To Park
Imam
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ÿ
#
Hotel (500m);
Bus Terminal (1.5km); Mosque................................................B2
#
ú # ß
ü # Honarestan Sq (2km)
ì
10 # 13 2 Enqelab Sq
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# 15 # St 8 Station Gateway....................................B3
#
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WESTERN IR AN Z
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#
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Tohid St
9 Hotel Sa'di.............................................. B1
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10 Haji Dadashi...........................................A2
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11 Karavansara Sangi ...............................B3

16
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L ENEJPAINN G
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3 Ferhangi (650m) #
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3 13 Eloğulu Teahouse .................................A2
Train ‚

666
Station
£
# Terminal (1.5km);
Zanjan Grand Hotel (3.5km)
A B
pot minarets but its 1940s architecture is of
little artistic merit.
The 1851 Baha’i massacres were perpe-
trated in lanes behind where you now see
philosopher Soravardi’s bust (Sa’di St) on
a library wall. Pol-e-Sardar, an attractive
Safavid bridge to the southwest of the town
centre, is visible west of the Bijar road.
4 Sleeping
Park Hotel HOTEL $
(%332 2228; fax 332 6798; Imam St; s/tw
US$20/28; a) Upgrades are complete at this
reliable option near Azadi Sq. The manager
speaks some English.
Zanjan Grand Hotel HOTEL $$$
(Hotel Bozorg Zanjan; %728 8190; Basij Sq; s/tw/
ste US$92/104/139; pai) By far Zanjan’s
top option, the stylishly sparse, internation-
al tandard rooms are spacious, with impec-
cable bathrooms, a slight niggle being the
ill-conceived light-switching system. Staff
try hard to please. However, the noisy loca-
tion is inconvenient if you’re not driving.
Hotel Sa’di MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%322 2528; Imam St; s/tw/tr without bathroom
US$6/8/10) This sensibly priced mosafer-
khaneh is relatively well kept but the win-
dowless singles are truly minuscule.
To Bus þ Shopping
14 Bookshop............................................... B1
ï Transport
15 Eastbound Shuttle Taxis......................B2
16 Rare Minibuses to Bijar &
Dandy ..................................................A3
17 Savaris to Tehran, Qazvin &
Tabriz...................................................A3
18 Westbound Shuttle Taxis .................... A1
5 Eating & Drinking
In addition to the traditionally styled places
listed below there are numerous standard
kababis along Imam St.
Sofrakhane Sonati Abache TEAHOUSE $
(Bostani Bashkah; %323 7250; Bashkah Alley; dizi
US$2, qalyan US$1; h8.30am-10pm) Good for
bread-and-honey breakfasts, this former
zurkhaneh chamber is an octagonal domed
cellar eccentrically decorated with old sam-
ovars, portraits and peacock feathers. Tea
(US$0.50) comes with dates and a swizzle-
stick of crystal sugar. At night it’s popular
with (male) university students. Look for the
black door with brass knobs and knockers.
Haji Dadash TEAHOUSE $
(%322 2020; bazaar; meals US$1-5; h10am-11pm)
This family-oriented tea-cavern overflows
with character, especially in its carpet-
draped front cellar. The good dizi sangi
(peasants’ stew of lamb, chickpeas and
144

THRONE OF SOLEIMAN
A great way to visit Takht-e Soleiman (see below) is by chartering a taxi for a day
from Zanjan (around US$40, full day with stops) travelling on afterwards via Takab to
be dropped off in Bijar. The route passes some fabulously timeless villages, particularly
once you’ve passed the unexotic mining town of Dandy. Shikhlar, 20km west of Dandy
is dramatically backed by the pyramidal peak of Tozludagh (Dusty Mountain). Qara-
volkhana, 20km further (10km before Takht-e Soleiman), has particularly picturesque
mud-block homes rising between spindly trees and a lurid, metallic-green igloo-shaped
mini-shrine at its southern end. Bucolic meadowland behind offers great hikes and the
possible ascent of Mt Belqeis, topped by fragmentary ruins of a Sassanid line-of-sight
fortress.
WESTERN IR AN TA

If you take the daily Zanjan-Dandy minibus (around 9am), use Dandy’s taxi stand
(%0242 352 2566) to charter a ride for the last 50km to Takht-e Soleiman.

potato) comes with a plate of fresh herbs to (an easy, obvious 2km walk from central Zanjan)
fine-tune the flavour but tea and qalyan for NOT at the ‘Zanjan’ exit, which is around 10km
four costs a hefty US$6. Enter opposite the out to the east.
8 K H T- E S O L E I M A N

portal of Mirza Mehdi mosque within the
main bazaar.
Karavansara Sangi TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(%326 1266; Beheshti St; meals US$2.50-5;
h11am-4pm & 6-11pm) Atmospheric if a little
over-lit, this 400-year-old stone building is
an L-shaped remnant of a caravanserai with
10 carpet-decked vaulted alcoves facing a
long row of tables. Try the kashki bademjun
(eggplant paste, US$1.50).
Eloğlu Teahouse TEAHOUSE $
(Ferdosi St; tea US$0.50, qalyan US$1; h8am-
9.30pm) Yet another appealing subterranean
teahouse; the Eloğlu is in a modern base-
ment beautified with Rajasthani textiles.
8 Information
Export Development Bank (Ferdosi St; h9am-
noon) exchanges money. Rayanet (Sa’di St;
per hr US$1; h8am-midnight) has excellent
internet connection and friendly staff. Farsi-only
city maps are sometimes sold from bookshops
opposite the telephone office (Sa’di St; h7am-
10.30pm) and are available free from room 25,
Miras Ferhangi (%323 9007; miras_zanjan@
hotmail.com; Khayyam St; h8am-2pm).
8 Getting There & Away
Buses to Esfahan (US$6, 6.30pm), Rasht (US$3,
8.30am) and Tehran (fairly frequent) use the
big but eerily empty terminal, five minutes’ walk
south of Shilat Sq.
Savaris and some buses for Tehran, Qazvin
and Tabriz pick up at the Behesti (Khayyam)/
Ferdosi St junction. If arriving on a Tehran–
Tabriz bus that’s bypassing Zanjan on the
motorway, get off at the junction marked ‘Bijar’
Savaris and occasional minibuses to Soltani-
yeh (US$1) leave from Honarestan Sq.
The train station is beyond a Dali-esque gate-
way of winged wheels. Best-timed departures
for Tehran (US$2 to US$4.50, four hours) via
Qazvin (two hours) are at 6.14am and 8.24am.
Tickets are hard to find for the 9.45pm and
11.10pm sleepers to Tabriz (US$7, 8½ hours) via
Maraqeh (five hours).
8 Getting Around
Useful shuttle-taxis run from Enqelab Sq to
Honarestan Sq passing near the terminal.
Others go from Sabz Sq to Esteqlal Sq.
Takht-e Soleiman
‫ﺗﺨﺖ ﺳﻠﻴﻤﺎﻥ‬
ELEV 2152M
THE MAIN RUINS
Sitting in a high, lonely bowl of mountains
ringed by 1500-year-old fortress walls, this
Unesco World Heritage Site (%0482-563
3311; admission US$1; h8am-sunset) is one of
the most memorable sights of western Iran.
In the 3rd century AD the state religion of
Sassanian Persia was Zoroastrianism (see
p164) and Takht-e Soleiman (then called
Azergoshnasb) was its spiritual centre. The
site was perfect. Zoroastrianism had by this
stage incorporated many Magi-inspired ele-
ments, including the veneration of earth,
wind (plenty here), water and fire. Water
(albeit undrinkably poisonous) was provid-
ed in abundance by the limpidly beautiful
‘bottomless’ crater lake that still forms the
centre of the site. This lake pours forth 90L

per second and would have been channelled
through an Anahita-style water temple. The
fire was provided thanks to a natural volcan-
ic gas channelled through ceramic pipes to
sustain an ‘eternal flame’ in the ateshkadeh
(fire temple).
Today only relatively fragmentary ruins
remain and you shouldn’t expect Persepolis-
style carvings. Nonetheless, the sheer age
and magnificent setting here are attractions
enough.
Takht-e Soleiman’s name (Throne of Solo-
mon) is not based on real historical links
to Old Testament King Solomon. It was in
fact a cunning 7th-century invention by the
temple’s Persian guardians in the face of the
Arab invasion. Realising Islam’s reverence
for biblical prophets they entirely fabricat-
ed a tale of Solomon’s one-time residence
to avert the site’s certain destruction. The
ruse worked, the complex survived and the
name stuck.
In the 13th century, Takht-e Soleiman
became a summer retreat for the Mongol
Ilkhanid khans. The remnants of their hunt-
ing palace is now covered with a discordant
modern roof forming a store-room (often
locked) for amphora, unlabelled column
fragments, photos and a couple of ceramic
sections of those ancient gas pipes.
A guide is often available at the site gate
and can help you make sense of all the piles
of stone if you share enough language. Alter-
natively, navigate yourself using a glossy bi-
lingual Farsi/English map/brochure (US$1),
which are sold at the ticket booth but not
displayed. Ask.
Takht-e Soleiman is 2km from Nosrata-
bad. Archaeologists believe that beneath
that mud-and-haystack village is the site of
Shiz, once a Nestorian-Christian centre of
Graeco-Persian learning. Nosratabad has a
minuscule kabab window, but the nearest
accommodation is 42km away in Takab.
ZENDAN-E SOLEIMAN
This dramatic 97m conical peak dominates
the valley landscape for miles around.
Though it’s now bare of all construction, the
cone was once enclosed by fortified walls
and topped by a religious sanctuary that
archaeologists suggest dated back to 900
BC. Zendan-e Soleiman means Solomon’s
Prison, though anyone jailed within the cen-
tral crater wouldn’t have lasted long given
the noxious sulphurous fumes. Peering gin-
gerly into its dizzying void can be suffocat-
ing enough. Assuming you’re reasonably fit,
145
climbing to the crater’s edge should take
under 15 minutes. The path is muddy but
obvious, zig-zagging up from the Takab road
about 4km south of the main Takht-e Solei-
man ruins.
8 Getting There & Away
Unless you charter a ride from Zanjan or Dandy,
the approach is from Takab. From a small taxi
stand on the western edge of Takab town,
taxis ask US$7 return including enough time
to quickly run around the site and to dash up
Zendan-e Soleiman. Add US$2 per hour if you
WESTERN IR AN S A
hang around. Savaris and minibuses only run to
Nosratabad once or twice a day and leave you
2km short of Takht-e Soleiman. Traffic is often
very thin making hitchhiking awkward.
Sanandaj ‫ﺳﻨﻨﺪﺝ‬
% 0871 / POP 358,000 / ELEV 1502M
I GNHATNSDA J
Even by Iran’s super-hospitable standards,
Sanandaj is a remarkably friendly city. It’s
the capital of Kordestan province, a good
base for visits to Palangan and a great place
to learn more about Kurdish history and cul-
ture. You’ll see plenty of men wearing tra-
ditional cummerbunds and baggy Kurdish
trousers. Yet it’s a modern, noticeably pros-
perous city with a large, fashionable popula-
tion of students ever anxious to try out their
English. In Sanandaj’s Sorani-Kurdish ju-an
means beautiful and deso hoshbe means
thank you.
History
Originally known as Senna (as it still is to lo-
cal Kurds), the city was of major importance
in the Middle Ages but withered to nothing
in the chaotic post-Chaldoran era. A dej (for-
tress) was built here in the early 18th cen-
tury and Senna-dej slowly developed into
Sanandaj. From here the powerful Ardalan
emirs came to rule the last autonomous prin-
cipality of Iranian Kurdistan up until 1867.
Under the Ardalans the town developed
many fine 19th-century buildings, though
most have since been lost to rapacious 20th-
century development. Busily commercial
Ferdosi St links the twin centres Enqelab and
Azadi Sqs. From the latter, Abidar St slopes
up into the folds of a rocky ridge that was the
city’s historic defence and is today the pleas-
ant Abidar mountain park.
1 Sights
The fortress (Imam St) is firmly closed for
military use, though a tea bazaar huddles at
its eastern edge.
 66
146

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WESTERN IR AN S IAGNHATNSDA J

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A B C D

Over the road, the covered bazaar is engineered fountain-cellar is generally

cruelly bisected by Enqelab St but within is kept locked.
the unusual 1805 Khan Hamam (admission
US$1; h9am-1pm & 3-7pm Tue-Sun). The interior Asef Mansion MUSEUM

has considerably restored grey-and-white
floral and bird motifs, attractive tiling and
remarkably lifelike ‘bathers’ enjoying the
historic bathhouse. The easily missed door
has a brass ‘fist’ knocker: walk one mini-
block into the bazaar beside Mehmanpazir
Jahan, then one block right and the museum
is on your left.
Lotfolla Sheik-al Islam Mansion MUSEUM
(Habibi Lane; admission US$2; h9am-12.30pm
& 3-6.30pm) The well-renovated Lotfolla
Sheikh-al-Islam Mansion houses the Re-
gional Museum whose multicoloured
windows (orosi) were designed for practi-
(Asif Diwan; Imam St; admission US$1; h8.30am-
12.30pm & 2.30-5pm Tue-Sun) This is another
attractively restored Qajar building that’s
now a museum of Kurdish life. Manne-
quins are dressed in various distinctive
tribal costumes that are still commonly
worn in valleys around Kordestan. One
room features Sanandaj’s speciality wood-
inlay crafts. A side courtyard just within
the mansion’s entrance leads through to a
vaulted gallery (admission free) that has spo-
radic art exhibitions.
Masjed-e Jameh (Jameh
Mosque) ‫ﻣﺴﺠﺪ ﺟﺎﻣﻊ‬ MOSQUE, MUSEUM

cality as well as beauty: supposedly they (Darolesan Mosque; Imam St) In 1813 Amonulla
disoriente mosquitoes. Exhibits include Khan sponsored this fine construction, with
some extraordinarily old pottery and met- tiled twin minarets and 32 interior domes.
alwork treasures but sadly the acoustically He was so pleased with the result that he re-

Sanandaj
æ Sights
1 Asef Mansion.........................................A2
Cultural Heritage Organisation
of Kordestan...............................(see 6)
2 Fortress Site..........................................B3
3 Jameh (Darolesan) Mosque................A2
4 Khan Hamam.........................................C3
5 Moshir Divan.......................................... B1
6 Regional Museum.................................A2
ÿ Sleeping
1 47
Moshir Divan HISTORIC HOUSE
(Shohoda St) Several other historic buildings
in town are only partially repaired. This
trefoil-topped iconic mansion is still in dire
need of renovation. It’s hidden in a walled
garden off Shohada St: ring the speaker
phone and hope.
Khosroabad Mansion HISTORIC HOUSE
(Khosroabad St; admission free; h10am-dusk)
This formerly grand mansion has an im-
pressive central courtyard with reflecting
pools and was once the palace of Ardalan

WESTERN IR AN S A
7 Mehmanpazir Kaj..................................B3 emir Amonulla Khan but is now in a fairly
8 Nehro Hotel ...........................................B3 parlous state. It’s two blocks up a quiet boul-
evard of plane trees from Sahar Kaveh St.
ú Eating
9 Jahannama ............................................C2 4 Sleeping
û Drinking
Shadi Hotel HOTEL $
(%662 5112; Pasdaran St extension; tw/tr
Unnamed Teahouse ..................... (see 7)

L ENEAPNI DA
US$35/55; pa) By far the best accommo-
þ Shopping dation in Sanandaj, this very professional
hotel deserves at least three of its four self-

10 Khaledi.................................................... B1
11 Stationery Shop ....................................B2
ï Transport
12 Kia Parvaz ..............................................B2
putedly had the architect blinded to prevent
its repetition for any other patron. The pun-
ishment would have been more appropriate
for whoever built the ugly new mosque di-
rectly behind.
N GJ
awarded stars. A choice of restaurants lead
off a spacious lobby that wraps around a big
copper fireplace. The staff speak English.
The hotel’s main drawback is its out-of-town
position beyond Mellat Park but shuttle
taxis from Azadi Sq pass outside (very fast!).
Nehro Hotel HOTEL $
(%225 5170; Ferdosi St; tw/tr US$8/10) This
great-value place has clean, well-kept rooms
above a small shopping centre. All have
shower and squat toilet.

THE KURDS
Just as many Westerners have the misguided impression that Iran is somehow ‘danger-
ous’, so Iranians are similarly misinformed about Kurdish areas of their own country. In
fact Kurdish hospitality often trumps even that of mainstream Persians.
Kurds comprise nearly 10% of Iran’s population. But there are several different
Kurdish sub-groups speaking languages that are almost mutually unintelligible. Kurds
around Howraman and Paveh are the most traditional and speak poetic Hurami. Those
in Sanandaj usually speak Sorani. Both groups are typically Sunni. However, some Kurds
around Kermanshah are Shiite. Kermanji, the language of most Kurds in Turkey, isn’t
widely spoken, though Kermanji satellite TV stations, some openly glorifying PKK leader
Abdulla Öcalan, are starting to change this. Curiously there are pockets of native Ker-
manji speakers around Kalat in northeastern Iran. They were originally sent there by the
Safavids to defend Iran’s 17th-century borders, and never left.
There are variations between tribes, but a common element in traditional dress for
most Iranian Kurdish men is the slightly tasselled headscarf (mezare) and the distinc-
tive kawa pantol suit with heavily pleated baggy trousers. These are typically belted by
a wide cummerbund (biben) which, when dancing, men pull off and whirl above their
heads. Women wear colourful long dresses over baggy trousers and rarely resort to
chador. At celebrations the real finery comes out, notably caps covered in gold coins
over cascading stitched tulle scarves.
148
Mehmanpazir Kaj HOTEL $
(%323 1162; Ferdosi St; s/tw from US$7/10) The
Kaj is unusually presentable for a cheap
guesthouse with corridors that have reno-
vated old wall-mouldings. The simple rooms
have nicely tiled bathrooms with squeaky
clean squat toilets and gushingly powerful
showers. Unsigned in English, it’s four doors
along from the bridge that crosses Kord-
estan Blvd.
5 Eating & Drinking
WESTERN IR AN S
Typical kababis and fruit-juice squeezers
are scattered along Ferdosi St, especially
around Enqelab and Azadi Sqs where
Shahreqashang (%322 7706; h7.30-2.30am)
serves ice creams and snacks till very late.
An unnamed, unexotic teahouse near Hotel
Hedayat is good for fried egg breakfasts or
E AT
dizi.
A NIANNGDA
JimJim TEAHOUSE $
(Abidar St; coffee US$1-2, pizzas from US$2; h10am-
& JD R I N K I N G
2pm & 4pm-midnight) Gold tables, swirly
wrought-iron seats and friendly staff make
this little cafe a pleasant place for refresh-
ment if walking between Abidar Park and the
Khosroabad Building, west of Azadi Sq.
In Abidar Park itself and beyond Kuhna-
var Sq there several places for ice cream,
kababs and snacks.
Khansalar TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%662 351; Pasdaran St; meals US$3-7; h11.30am-
3pm & 5.30-10pm) Sanandaj’s most interesting
restaurant has waiters in Kurdish costume,
plays Kurdish music and has some Kurdish
menu options including dokhwa (tinglingly
tart barley soup) and various types of köfte
(meatballs). There’s also kashka bademjun
(mashed eggplant with yoghurt) for vegetar-
ians (US$1.50). Take a shuttle taxi from Aza-
di Sq, alighting opposite the university just
before EN Bank.
Jahannama TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%226 4212; Taleqani St; meals US$6-8; h8am-
4pm & 7-10pm) Descend a glittery stairway
into a weird stylistic mish-mash of OTT op-
ulence, middle-class kitsch and genuine lo-
cal artefacts including antique qalyans and
samovars. The food is excellent and sensibly
priced. Try the delicately flavoured khoresht
sabzi (vegetable, meat and bean stew), suc-
culent juje pofaki (marinated chicken
morsels) or curious tahchin agusht (meat,
raisins and barberries arranged like a ga-
teau between layers of saffron rice).
7 Shopping
Several workshops around the Asef Mansion
create and sell Sanandaj’s famous wood-
crafts, notably inlaid nard sets.
Khaledi (%225 5680; Shohoda St; h8am-
1pm & 3-8pm) sells traditional musical
instruments including beautiful setars
(long-necked local lutes).
A little one-window stationery shop
(Imam St) sells city maps that are very ac-
curate for back alleys but dangerously out-
dated for main streets (many being newly
constructed).
8 Information
The website www.sanandaj.com has city photos
to send as e-postcards.
Ashyanneh Coffeenet (%323 6187; Seyid
Qotb St; per hr US$1.50; h8am-11pm) For
internet. Internet access is also available in
the plush Tejari Kordestan shopping mall on
Pasdaran St.
Bank Melli (Taleqani St) To change money use
this branch, but not the big branch on Azadi Sq.
Cultural Heritage Organisation of Kordestan
(%225 5440; www.kurdistanmiras.ir; Habibi
Lane; h8am-2pm Sat-Thu) This delightfully
helpful, multilingual tourist office offers beauti-
ful brochures and basic, up-to-date maps. Its
in an inner section of the lovely mansion that
houses the Regional Museum.
8 Getting There & Away
Travel agency Kia Parvaz (%222 7770; alley off
Imam St) sells tickets for Iran Aseman’s daily
Sanandaj–Tehran flight on a Fokker 100.
Savaris to Kamyaran (US$2, one hour), Ker-
manshah (US$5, two hours), Qorveh (US$2) and
Hamadan (US$6) wait in neat, well-organised
queues in the main bus terminal area, 4km east
of the centre. Minibuses leave from behind and
long-distance buses from a half-hidden section
to the left. Several bus companies have handy
central ticket offices around Enqelab Sq. Bus
services are shown in the table, p123.
8 Getting Around
Fast-filling shuttle taxis (US$0.50 per standard
hop) from Enqelab Sq run east to the main termi-
nal and north along Taleqani Sq to the Marivan
terminal. From Azadi Sq they run down Pasdaran
St and up Abidar St.
For Abidar mountain park things are made
complicated by the one-way system: some cars
up Keshavarz St divert and continue up Abidar
St past JimJim leaving you to walk the last 15
minutes or so. A taxi dar baste to the upper hair-
pin sections of Abidar Park costs around US$3.

BUSES FROM SANANDAJ
DESTINATION FARE
Ahvaz US$14
Esfahan US$9
Orumiyeh US$8
Rasht US$7
Tabriz US$7
Tehran US$5-13
Palangan ‫ﭘﻠﻨﮕﺎﻥ‬
POP 850 / ELEV 1005M
Brilliant Palangan is one of Iran’s most pic-
turesque villages. Its earth-coloured stone
houses climb steeply up both sides of a
rocky chasm while traditionally dressed
villagers shoe horses in the narrow path-
ways or simply stand gazing from their flat
rooftops. Wobbly old bridges cross the gush-
ing river at either end of town. Unlike How-
raman, though, this is not an ‘undiscovered’
gem. Local tourists come in considerable
numbers at weekends to picnic in the lo-
cal orchards. However, because many come
dressed up in Kurdish Friday-best costumes
this adds further photogenic colour to the
scene.
To get here, start in dreary Kamyaran,
halfway between Hamadan and Sanandaj.
Savaris for Palangan start from Salahaddin
St (2km southeast of Kamyaran’s main ter-
minal), but you’ll probably need to pay dar
baste (US$10 return plus waiting time). The
asphalted road (45km) passes some other
interesting mud-and-stone Kurdish villages
en route. Vehicles arrive at a car park out-
side Palangan’s big, rather ugly fish farm.
Don’t be dismayed. The old village is hidden
around the corner, a 15-minute stroll along a
covered watercourse.
Howraman ‫ﻫﻮﺭﺍﻣﺎﻥ‬
ELEV 1536M
Caught at the intersection of powerful em-
pires, the Kurds had their homes destroyed
so regularly in medieval history that, by the
18th century, a sizable part of society had
foregone villages altogether and resorted
to nomadism and brigandry. An impor-
149
DEPARTURES &
DURATION COMPANY
13hr 6pm Seiro Safar, Taavoni 7
9hr 8pm Taavoni 5
9hr 9am Taavoni 5, 7.45pm
Taavoni 15
7hr 6pm Taavoni 15
9hr 8pm Taavoni 5
WESTERN IR AN PA
6hr various
tant exception, thanks to its impenetrable
mountain-hemmed position, was the How-
raman (Orumanat) valley. This remains one
8 LANGAN
of Iran’s least known and most spectacular
areas. In colder months you’ll still see How-
raman men wearing kolobal, brown-felt
jackets with distinctive shoulder ‘horns’.
There is plenty of age-old stone terracing
and the villages are stacked Masuleh-style,
one house’s roof forming the next one’s yard.
The Hurami Kurdish language is quite
distinct from Sorani Kurdish, which re-
placed it in Sanandaj, though Hurami was
once the dialect of choice for regional Kurd-
ish poets. Knowing even a few words will
flabbergast and delight locals you meet.
Fere-washa and zarif mean beautiful,
wazhmaze means delicious, deset wazhbu
(literally ‘hand good’) means thank you
to which one replies sarat wazhbu (‘head
good’ ie you’re welcome).
From Biyakara, 17km east of Marivan,
an asphalted road leads up through a nar-
row canyon, transits the extensive village of
Dezli, and climbs a high pass where it di-
vides. Two roads from here lead to Paveh,
both breathtakingly beautiful. What appears
to be the smaller branch wiggles along the
Iraqi border at Dalani (don’t take photos
there), bypasses Nodesheh and continues
via Nosud. This is now asphalted and is so
much easier than the alternative, but clas-
sic, route via picturesque Kamala (basic
kabab shops) and austere Howraman-at-
Takht (Oruman-Takht) where the asphalt
ends. Howraman-at-Takht is a particularly
impressive and steep array of rock-and-mud
bungalows viewed most photogenically from
the diminutive Pir Shaliar shrine, 600m be-
yond. Although there’s now a green-domed
Muslim prayer-room here, that shrine’s real
interest lies in the animistic rocks and trees,
1 50
behind, which are draped with votive rag-
strips Buddhist-style. A Mithraic midwinter
festival is reportedly still held here on the
Friday nearest to 4 February. Some suggest
that this is a cultural relic from preZoroas-
trian ‘angel’ worship, albeit with an Islamic
overlay.
The slippery mud road from Howraman-
at-Takht to Paveh (72km, 4½ hours) is 90%
hairpins: marvellously scenic but spine-
jarringly exhausting, and impossible if wet
or snowy (ie most of the winter). The most
appealing villages en-route are Belbär,
WESTERN IR AN PAV
cupped in a deep mountain hollow, and
Selin where brightly attired women sit at
the roadside crocheting classic Howraman
slippers (giveh). The best views are around
Hawasawa (visible but inaccessible from
the ‘road’) with grandeur reminiscent of
SLEEP
the Karakoram Highway. Asphalt returns at
Ura, 21km northwest of Paveh.
HI N G
4 Sleeping
There’s no formal accommodation en route,
but if you are invited to stay you might find
hospitality so overwhelming that a polite
quick ‘escape’ is hard to arrange.
8 Getting There & Away
Snow allowing, Howraman-at-Takht makes a
relatively easy taxi day-trip from Marivan (or
even Sanandaj). There are also shared 4WDs be-
tween Biyakara and Howraman-at-Takht (US$5,
1¾ hours, 50km), but you can’t be sure of finding
a ride back again the same day. A great idea is to
engage a taxi or 4WD at Biyakara or Marivan and
continue all the way to Paveh. Dar baste expect
to pay US$45 via Nosud, or US$75 via Belbär.
Sharing a ride, prices will vary enormously
according to vehicle, driver and what other co-
passengers you can find for intermediate points.
Paveh ‫ﭘﺎﻭﻩ‬
% 0832 / POP 13,700 / ELEV 1520M
The rapidly developing Hurami-speaking
town of Paveh (sometimes pronounced
‘Pawa’) makes an accessible introduction
and gateway to Howraman. It’s a phenom-
enally hospitable place with a fine setting,
high up a fold of mountainside valley. Views
of Paveh’s most characteristic stepped area
are best from the Ferris wheel in Kazemi
Park.
At the back of the park you’ll find the
Ateshgah Suites (%/fax 722 1732, 0918-888
3059; r US$18), where six concrete box-rooms
with bathroom and kitchenette are carpeted
and have blankets but no beds. It’s named
Ateshgah for what was once Sassanian Per-
sia’s second-greatest Zoroastrian temple
complex (after Takht-e Soleiman) on a pro-
nounced rocky knob on the mountain-top
opposite. The site is very distantly visible
from rooms 1 and 2 across a deep valley. Lo-
cals claim somewhat optimistically that they
can walk there and back in a long day.
There’s cheaper accommodation, in lit-
tle dorms at the Ostad Khanim Mo’allem
(Female-teachers’ Hostel; %722 5574; dm US$5)
if they allow you to stay. It’s supposedly for
women only, but the caretaker (who speaks
no English) might accept foreign men if
they’re suitably polite. Access is down steps
marked with a restaurant sign featuring
a chicken (beside the Pirayshfoad barber
shop).
By far the nicest dining option in Paveh
is Kapr (%722 1112; Shohoda Sq; meals US$1-5;
h8am-10pm) at the top of the town’s little
blue-glass shopping centre.
8 Getting There & Away
From the main terminal 3km east of central
Paveh, Kermanshah minibuses (US$1) and
savaris (US$3, 1¾ hours) fill slowly. It might
prove quicker to go in hops via Javanrud (US$1,
45 minutes) or Ravansar (US$1, one hour).
For Marivan and Howraman shared Toyota
(pronounced ‘tweeter’) pick-ups gather outside
a trio of orange container huts, 1km west of
Shohoda Sq. Departure times are highly unpre-
dictable, typically before dawn to Howraman-at-
Takht (US$10, five hours) if at all. To allow plenty
of photo stops consider renting a taxi dar baste
to Marivan from the delightful folks at Kurd Taxi
Agency (%722 777; Blvd Janbazan) either via
Nosud (US$35) or in perfect dry weather via
Howraman-at-Takht (US$80, a very rough road).
Kermanshah ‫ﻛﺮﻣﺎﻧﺸﺎﻩ‬
% 0831 / POP 765,000 / ELEV 1330M
Gateway to the sweltering cities of the Iraqi
plains, Kermanshah developed in the 4th
century AD under the patronage of Sassani-
an kings and squats astride the former Royal
Road to Baghdad – such strategic position-
ing has brought both prosperity and attack,
and Kermanshah suffered brutal damage
during the Iran-Iraq War. Briefly renamed
Bakhtaran in the 1980s, the city is a melting
pot of Kurds, Lori and other Iranians, many
on pilgrimage west to the holy cities of Najaf
and Kerbala. Though not a yet a major tour-
ist draw, the backdrop of glowing red-rock
 6
151

e
0 200 m
Kermanshah # 0 0.1 miles Kermanshah
A B
‚

6
æ Sights

‚
Beheshti St To Main Bus
Terminal (5km) 1 Ashikhade Mosque ............................... B1
# 13
2 Covered Bazaar ....................................B2

ta n
1 1 3 Ehmad Dohla Mosque..........................B2

Jalil St
Goles

6 6
Azadi Sq
8 Ethnographic Museum................. (see 6)
#
ÿ 4 Jameh Mosque......................................B2
9ÿ
#
Gumruk iß
#1
Shafer 5 Takieh Biglar Begi.................................B2

Moda
Karger Sq # 6 Takieh Mo'aven ol-Molk .......................B2
Imam St

15 ì
#

6 6
rres ÿ Sleeping
ß
#5
7 Hotel-Apartment Lizhan......................B2

WESTERN IR AN K
4ß
#
2
Taleqani Sq 2 8 Meraj Hotel ............................................ B1
ß
#
St
Imam 9 Mosaferkhaneh Nabovat ..................... B1
æ
# 3 Ashktalkh
Hossein 6
2

6
Sq ß
# ú Eating
7
Motahhari #
ÿ 10 Chelokababi Tavakol............................B3
Blvd
17 ú 11 Eram Restaurant...................................B4
Isfah # # 10

6
ani 12 Homa ......................................................B3

S IEGRHMTASN S H A H
Shirin
Park
ï Transport
14
3 Jahad # 3 13 Bus 2 to Bus Terminal &
Sq

6 6
ï
#ò Savaris to 15 Khordat Sq .................. B1
#
14 Iran Peyma.............................................B3
Kashani

12 ð
# Pars Peyma ................................... (see 9)
#
ú
15 Savaris for Paveh..................................B2
ì
# Kashani Sq 16 Setareh Soheil.......................................B4
i ú
#
Saad 17 Taavoni 7................................................B3
11
Khayya m
Sari'ati

4 # 16 4
The once interesting area of older hous-
Fate
i
han

es around the blue-domed, 20th-century

my
Kas

Ashikhade Mosque (Jalil St) has now been

A B
largely bulldozed, but some curiosities re-
main if you poke about in the back alleys.
mountains is impressive enough and Taq-e
Taq-e Bustan MUSEUM, HISTORIC SITE
Bustan stands as one of the most peculiar
Tucked into a towering cliff are inscribed
monuments in all of Iran.
some extraordinary Sassanian bas reliefs,
Kermanshah is bewilderingly vast. The
set in and around a pair of carved alcoves.
main street changes names (Kashani-
Originally the site of an earlier Parthian
Modarres-Beheshti-Sheikh Shiroodi) as it
royal hunting garden, the Sassanians added
stretches over 10km from the busy commer-
their own regal stamp. The biggest alcove
cial centre (the southern third) to the foot
features elephant-backed hunting scenes
of the magnificent rocky Parom Mountain
on the side walls and highlights the corona-
massif. Here the Taq-e Bustan carvings,
tion of Khosrow II (r AD 590–628) beneath
ringed by parks and outdoor restaurants,
which the king rides off in full armour and
form the city’s foremost attraction.
chain mail resembling the Black Prince
(albeit half a millennium before European
1 Sights knights had ‘invented’ such armour). The
The extensive, much restored covered ba- second niche shows kings Shapur III and
zaar slopes up from Modarres St. It’s well his Roman-stomping grandfather Shapur
worth exploring with its couple of dilapidat- II. To the right of the niches is a fine tab-
ed old caravanserai courtyards at the west- leau again showing Shah Shapur II (r AD
ern end. Within the bazaar, Ehmad Dohla 379–383) trampling over the defeated Ro-
Mosque (Jewellery Bazaar), entered through man Emperor Julian the Apostate (who
an attractive tiled portal, has a Qajar-era he’d beaten in AD 363). Shapur II receives
clock tower. a crown of blessing from Zoroastrian god
1 52
Mithras. Surrounding open-air restaurants
remain popular late into the evening. Even
after the reliefs-complex closes, sympathetic
lighting means that a golden glow emanates
warmly from the alcoves, making the reliefs
attractively half-visible through trees across
a boating pond.
Takieh Mo’aven ol-Molk HOSSEINIEH, SHRINE
(Hadad Abil St; admission US$1; h10am-noon &
4-7.30pm Sat-Thu) Distinctively Shiite, Hos-
seiniehs are shrines where plays are acted
out during the Islamic month of Moharram,
WESTERN IR AN K
commemorating the martyrdom of Imam
Hossein at Karbala (AD 680). The finest of
these theatres cum religious buildings, is the
Takieh Mo’aven ol-Molk.
Enter down stairs, through a courtyard
and domed central chamber decorated with
grizzly scenes from the Karbala battle. The
S LE EREMPAI N S
shrine remains very much active, with pil-
grims kissing the doors and being genuinely
moved by the footprint of Ali on the wall of
GH A H
the second courtyard. This is set amid tiles
depicting a wacky gamut of images from Qu-
ranic scenes, to pre-Islamic motifs including
Shahnameh kings, European villages and
local notables in 19th-century costumes. A
lovely building to the right is now an Eth-
nographic Museum displaying regional
costumes.
Takieh Biglar Begi HOSSEINIEH, MUSEUM
(%827 6597; admission free; h8am-7pm Sat-Thu)
The lesser known Takieh Biglar Begi hous-
es a fairly cursory calligraphy museum, but
is worth visiting for its dazzling mirror-tiled
central dome-room. To find it take the lane
opposite the fine Masjed-e Jameh (Jameh
Mosque; Modarres St), which has a beautiful
Yazd-styled twin minaret. Then take the first
alley left.
Shapur Ataee (%0918-856 6220; shapura
taee@yahoo.com; per day plus tips US$25) is an
extremely learned and interesting guide
with good English and decent French.
4 Sleeping
A gaggle of cheapies lie handily close to Aza-
di Sq, many marked only in Farsi and almost
all above shop fronts via stairways that are
sometimes hard to spot.
Jamshid Hotel HOTEL $$
(%429 9666; www.hotel-jamshid.ir; Kuhnavand
Sq; s/d/tw/tr/ste US$86/106/126/146/193) Eas-
ily the best of Kermanshah’s top-end hotels,
the Jamshid has an eccentric white-stone
‘castle’ facade, but interior decor and service
are elegantly international and restrained.
Rooms have all the usual extras down to
minibar, kettle and logo-ed slippers. It’s just
south of Taq-e Bustan.
Meraj Hotel HOTEL $
(%823 3288; Modarres St; s/tw US$16/26) The
Meraj has mosaferkhaneh-style rooms al-
beit with small shower booths and squat toi-
lets. Access is upstairs guarded by a stuffed
goat.
Mosaferkhaneh Nabovat MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%823 1018; Modarres St; s/tw/tr US$6/12/16,
without shower US$5/9/14) The friendly Nabo-
vat has sensibly priced, no-frills rooms
whose sheets are clean and whose showers
are powerful and stay hot for a reasonable
while.
Hotel-Apartment Lizhan APARTMENT $$
(%721 0102; fax 727 6666; Motahhari Blvd; apt
US$65; a) Self-contained apartments with
full kitchens sleep up to six in two bed-
rooms, which might have a 1970’s Cindy
Doll feel but are 110% clean, comfy and new.
The perfumed entranceway features Leon-
ardo’s ‘Last Supper’; well, not the original
obviously.
5 Eating
Around Azadi Sq and on Motahhari Blvd
at the junction of Kaangar Blvd there are
snack stalls and confectioners selling Ker-
manshah’s archetypal nan berenji cookies
(literally ‘bread-rice’; a round semi-sweet
confection that’s usually yellow and fla-
voured with saffron). There’s a great con-
centration of kabab cafes and open-air
teahouses near the Taq-e Bustan carvings
and several restaurants around Kashani Sq.
oChelokababi
Tavakol TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(%722 7184; Modarres St; meals US$2-4) This
would be the backpacker meeting place, if
there were any backpackers. Excellent-value
Iranian food is served in an atmospheric
once-grand old hammam that’s slightly
gone-to-seed. Charming owner Ali Rahban
looks somewhat like Dudley Moore, speaks
good English and can rustle up eggplant
delights for vegetarians. Head downstairs
through white-framed doors with coloured-
glass panels.

Eram Restaurant TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(%727 8506; Bahmany Bldg, Shahid Ashrafi St;
meals US$3-5) Beneath the same fake 1920’s-
style tower building as Borj Pizza, Eram’s
staff are as eccentric as its wavy brickwork
interior, which culminates in green-bronze
framed copies of the Bisotun reliefs. It serves
mainly kababs, but does fesenjun (chicken
cooked in a pomegranate and walnut sauce)
at lunchtime.
Homa TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%723 4246; Kashani/Dabir Azam Sts; meals US$4-
7) Combining the atmosphere of a teahouse
with the calm elegance of an upmarket res-
taurant, Homa has embroidered tablecloths
and blue-brick dining niches ranged around
a gently trickling fountain. Though not a
patch on homemade equivalents, the semi-
sweet fesenjun (US$4) is ideally comple-
mented by their acidic dugh (churned sour
milk or yoghurt mixed with water).
Jamshid Restaurant TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$$
(%424 4185; basement, Jamshid Hotel; meals $5-
10; hnoon-3pm & 8-9.30pm, longer in summer)
Surveyed by a gigantic bronze eagle and
huge samovar, this unusual dining room is
divided by an artificial ‘stream’. Try the lo-
cal speciality khoresht khalol (lamb stewed
with almonds) rather than the three-skewer
dandeh kabab (US$7), which is famous
more for its huge size than for its flavour.
8 Information
Internet Access
Hesabgarnet (%723 1309; Shari’ati St; per hr
US$1; h10am-9pm)
Money
Sepehr Exchange Co (Bank Sepah Bldg,
Kashani Sq) Changes money, unlike the big
Bank Melli on Azadi Sq.
Tourist Information
Cultural Heritage Office of Kermanshah
(% 836 7403; off Beheshti St; h7.30am-
BUSES FROM KERMANSHAH
DESTINATION FARE
Ahvaz US$14
Esfahan US$9
Orumiyeh US$15
Tabriz US$14
Tehran (western) US$9/14
153
2.30pm Sun-Wed, 7.30am-1pm Thu) Lavish free
brochures and decent if undetailed map. It’s
north of the centre.
Khadivi House (%721 2696; Ma’adem St;
h8am-3pm Sat-Thu) The Cultural Heritage
Office operates a more convenient outlet at a
beautifully restored Qajar mansion and garden
used as occasional exhibition place.
8 Getting There & Away
Air
Flights to Tehran (US$55) leave thrice daily on
Iran Air (% 824 8610; Beheshti St; h7.30am-
WESTERN IR AN K
2.30pm Sat-Thu, 7.30am-1pm Fri), plus four
times weekly on Iran Aseman. Tickets are sold
by Tagh Bostan Travel (% 824 6222; Vila St;
h8am-6pm Sat-Thu, 10am-1pm Fri), Setareh
Soheil (%727 1115; Kashani St; h9.30am-7pm
Sat-Thu) and other travel agencies.
8 ERMANSHAH
Bus, Minibus & Savari
The huge main bus and minibus terminals are
side by side about 7km northeast of Azadi Sq.
Get there by savaris or bus 2 from Azadi Sq.
Several offices sell advance tickets including
Iran Peyma (Javad Sq), Taavoni 7 (Modarres
St) and very handy Pars Peyma (Modarres St)
beside Hotel Nobovat, which offers tickets to
almost anywhere. Useful options are shown in
the table below.
For Khorramabad, Taavoni 7 has an 8.30am bus
via Eslam Abad (US$7, 4½ hours), but it’s gener-
ally much quicker in hops. Start with a minibus
to Harsin (US$1, 45 minutes), a sizeable town in
an agricultural valley surrounded by moorland
bluffs reminiscent of a drought-stricken Scot-
land. Cross town by shuttle taxi (US$2, 3.5km)
and continue by savari to Nurabad (per person/
car US$1/5, 40 minutes) from which there are
minibuses/savaris (US$1/1.50, 1¼ hours) to
Khorramabad.
For Hamadan there are direct minibuses
(US$1, 2½ hours) and savaris (US$4).
Savaris to Paveh (back/front US$3/4) depart
from Gumruk St close to Azadi Sq.
Savaris to Bisotun (US$0.50, 25 minutes)
start from the southeast slip-road of the intimi-
dating 15 Khordat (Labab) overpass.
DURATION DEPARTURES & COMPANY
9hr 8am, 9pm via Andimeshk
9hr 5pm Pars Peyma
12hr 5pm Iran Peyma
8hr 6am, 6pm-10pm
9hr frequent
154
Train
A new railway is planned linking Tehran to Bagh-
dad (Iraq) via Kermanshah and Qasr-e-Shirin,
but construction will take years.
8 Getting Around
Bisotun-bound shuttle taxis from 15 Khordat Sq
pass the airport gates. Shuttle taxis from Azadi
Sq head in all directions, most usefully to the
terminals and to Mo’allem Sq for Taq-e Bustan.
On Modarres St, city buses usefully drive the
‘wrong way’ (northbound), but northbound
shuttle taxis have to wind around the one-way
WESTERN IR AN B
system until 8.30pm.
In September 2011 the government announced
a shiny new monorail system for the city, but
don’t hold your breath; completion is not due
till 2015.
8 I S OT U N
Bisotun ‫ﺑﻴﺴﺘﻮﻥ‬
% 0832 / ELEV 1690M
Awesome dry cliffs line the north flank of
the busy, partly industrialised Kermanshah-
Hamadan road, looking especially majestic
when approaching Bisotun from Sahneh.
BAS-RELIEF CARVINGS
At Bisotun the cliffs are inscribed with a
series of world-famous bas-relief carv-
ings dating from 521 BC. They were
awarded Unesco recognition in 2006. The
key feature is a well-preserved Darius re-
ceiving chained supplicants while a faro-
har (winged Zoroastrian ‘angel’ denoting
purity) hovers overhead. Though hard to
make out from ground level, the scene is
surrounded by cuneiform inscriptions ex-
pounding upon Darius’ greatness in three
‘lost’ languages (Elamite, Akkadian and
Old Persian).
In 1835, eccentric British army officer
Henry Rawlinson bemused locals by dan-
gling for months over the abyss to make
papier-mâché casts of these texts. It’s hard
to know how his superiors gave him the
time off to attempt so life-threatening an
eccentricity, nor why Rawlinson didn’t just
tootle up to Ganjnameh (p134) and copy
those inscriptions instead. Nonetheless, his
transcriptions later allowed the deciphering
of the cuneiform scripts, a thrilling break-
through that renders Bisotun as significant
to Persia-philes as the Rosetta Stone is to
Egyptologists.
To reach the carvings, jump out of a
savari from Kermanshah where the road
entering Bisotun’s swings 90 degrees right
(east). Then walk through a large car park
following the mighty cliffs west. You’ll pass
a club-wielding little Hercules statue from
148 BC (albeit with recently replaced head)
sitting on a rocky ledge. A little further is a
very eroded Parthian relief of Mithrades
II, partly overwritten by a 17th-century Ara-
bic inscription by Sheikh Alikhan. The main
reliefs face east, high above this, requiring a
good zoom lens and early-morning sunlight
for decent photos.
FARHAD TARASH
Some 200m beyond the main bas-relief site
is the huge, smooth Farhad Tarash rock
face, popular with climbers who consider it
among Iran’s greatest challenges. In fact it
was artificially smoothed in the 7th century
AD for an inscription that Khosrow II never
got around to scribbling. Walk 10 minutes’
further west, crossing some lumpy archaeo-
logical diggings, to find a well-restored but
unused 1685 caravanserai.
8 Getting There & Away
The savari stop for Kermanshah and for Sahneh
(and thence Hamadan) is a 10-minute walk
east through Bisotun town, just beyond Bank
Keshvari.
Hamadan ‫ﻫﻤﺪﺍﻥ‬
% 0811 / POP 528,000 / ELEV 1790M
Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Ha-
madan was once one of the ancient world’s
greatest cities. Pitifully little of antiquity
remains, but significant parts of the city
centre are given over to excavations and
there is a scattering of historical curiosi-
ties. Sitting on a high plain, Hamadan is
graciously cool in August, but snow-prone
and freezing cold from December to March.
In the summer the air is often hazy, but on
a rare, clear spring day there are impres-
sive glimpses of snow-capped Mt Alvand
(3580m) preening itself above the ragged
neocolonial cupolas of Imam Khomeini
Sq. A popular summer retreat, Hamadan’s
main draw card for Iranian visitors is its
proximity to the Ali Sadr Caves, but these
are vastly over-rated.
History
According to ancient Greek historians, Me-
dian king Deiokes fortified a palace here in
728 BC, and over succeeding decades the
Median capital of Ecbatana grew into an
opulent city. Its massive walls were said to

have had seven layers, the inner two coated
in gold and silver, the outer one as long as
that of classical Athens. By 550 BC it had
fallen to the Achaemenid Persians, and King
Cyrus was using it for his summer court.
The Medes retook the city in 521 BC but
were kicked out again within six months by
Darius who was so pleased with himself that
he recorded his achievements in stone be-
side the Royal Road at Bisotun (p128).
After centuries of pre-eminence and
wealth under Parthian and Sassanian dy-
155
1 Sights
Esther & Mordecai Tomb
‫ﺍﺳﺘﺮ ﻭ ﻣﺮﺩﺧﺎی ﺑﻘﻌﻪ‬ RELIGIOUS, SHRINE
(Aramgah-e Ester va Mordekhay; %252 2285; 12
Zangeneh Lane; admission by donation, typically
US$1 & a pen; h8am-noon & 3-6pm Sun-Thu, 8am-
noon Fri) This vaguely Tolkeinesque, 14th-
century tomb tower was once Iran’s most
important Jewish pilgrimage site. These
days visitors are few and far between and
some of the Hebrew inscriptions have been
repainted so often by those who evidently

nasties alike, Ecbatana/Hamadan faded
somewhat after the Arab conquest in the
mid-7th century AD, but it became the re-
gional capital under the Seljuks for some
60 years in the late 12th century. Known
as Hegmataneh (Meeting Place of Sufis) in
Old Persian, Hamadan suffered the usual
WESTERN IR AN H
couldn’t understand them, that they have
become stylised beyond readability.
Traditionally this is considered to be the
burial site of Esther (for whom a book in
the Bible’s Old Testament is named) and
her cousin/guardian Mordecai. Jewish or-
phan Esther had married Xerxes I (Biblical

S IAGMHATDA
devastations by Mongols (1220) and again King Ahasuerus) who’d ditched his first wife,
in 1386 (by Tamerlane), but only hit a ma- Vashti, for being too much of an early femi-
nist. Esther’s better-honed feminine wiles

jor decline in the 18th century following a
Turkish invasion.
The city began to recover in the mid-
19th century and was totally redesigned to
a modern city plan in 1929 by German en-
gineer Karl Frisch; Frisch’s master plan is a
cartwheel design with six avenues radiating
from Imam Khomeini Sq, widely referred
to simply as ‘meydan’. The wheel distorts
to the northeast around the lumpy hill of
Tappeh-ye Mosallah and the excavation site
of Hegmataneh Hill.
S N
are later said to have saved the Jews from
a massacre planned by Xerxes’ commander
(and Mordecai’s enemy) Haman. With names
very reminiscent of Babylonian gods, Esther
(Ishtar?) and Mordecai (Morduk?) might
be purely allegorical. Some suggest that
the tower actually commemorated Jewish
queen, Shushan-Dokht, who persuaded her
husband, Yazdgerd I (r AD 399–420) to sanc-
tion a renewed Jewish colony at Hamadan.
The tower is mostly hidden behind a high
grey metal barrier – ring the door bell (no

BUALI SINA
Had you studied advanced medicine in 17th-century Europe, your ‘text book’ would have
been the great medical encyclopaedia, Canon Medicinae. Incredibly, this had been writ-
ten 600 years earlier. Its author, remembered in the West as Avicenna, was in fact the
great Iranian philosopher, physicist and poet Abu Ali Ibn Sina (AD 980–1037), ‘BuAli’
Sina for short. If you’re a fan of aromatherapy you can thank BuAli for the development
of steam distillation with which essential oils are extracted. His ideas on momentum
and inertia were centuries ahead of Newton’s. And (following al-Kindi and al-Farabi),
his blending of Aristotle’s ideas with Persian philosophy helped inspire a golden age of
Islamic scholarship. However, this philosophy rapidly led to a polarisation of views about
the man whose ego was reputedly as great as his intellect.
Born in what is today Uzbekistan, BuAli studied medicine in Bukhara where his sharp
mind and photographic memory had him running rings around his teachers. Political
intrigues in Bukhara meant BuAli fled westwards to Gonbad-e Kavus, p245 only to arrive
as Qabus, his illustrious prospective sponsor, dropped dead. Initially BuAli proved luckier
in Hamadan, where he successfully treated the ailments of the ruling emir and was pro-
moted to vizier. However, when his patron died, Avicenna was thrown into prison for cor-
responding with Abu Jafar, a rival ruler based in Esfahan. Four months later the Esfahanis
stormed Hamadan releasing BuAli who thereupon worked with Abu Jafar for the rest of
his life, coincidentally dying while on a return trip to Hamadan some 14 years later.
156

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WESTERN IR AN H

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A B C D

English sign) and hopefully Rabbi Rajad will looks something like a vast, unfinished
scurry out to greet you, opening the 400kg concrete missile. It is loosely modelled on
stone-slab door to the tower and telling you Qabus’s 1000-year-old tower in Gonbad-e
(in French or Farsi) to don a scull-cap (pro- Kavus (p245), which BuAli probably saw
vided) before crawling into the inner tomb inaugurated. Paying the entry fee (entry
area. He’s an avid collector of foreign pens, from west) allows you to see the single-
which thus make an ideal tip. room museum of Avicenna memorabilia,
his tombstone, a small library and a display
Other Mausolea & on medicinal herbs. But the tower itself is
Tomb towers MAUSOLEUM, MUSEUM
better observed from a distance.
(Aramgah-e Buali Sina; %826 1008; admission
US$1; h8am-6pm summer, 8am-4pm winter) Baba Taher Mausoleum MAUSOLEUM
Hamadan’s icon is the BuAli Sina (Avi- (Aramgah-e Baba Taher; admission US$3; h8am-
cenna) Mausoleum, a 1954 tower that 5.30pm) Of a similar era to the BuAli Sina

Hamadan
æ Sights
1 Alaviyan Dome ......................................A2
2 Baba Taher Mausoleum....................... A1
3 Borj-e Qorban....................................... C4
4 BuAli Sina (Avecinna)
Mausoleum.........................................B4
5 Churches................................................C2
6 Esther & Mordecai Tomb.....................B3
7 Hegmataneh Hill (Ecbatana
Excavations).......................................C2
8 Imamzadeh-ye Abdollah......................A2
9 Imamzadeh-ye Hossein .......................B3
10 Jameh Mosque......................................B2
11 Sang-e Shir ............................................C5
ÿ Sleeping
12 Arian Hotel............................................ C4
13 Baba Taher Hotel.................................. B1
14 Buali Hotel .............................................B5
15 Farshchi Guest House..........................B3
16 Ordibesht Hotel.....................................B3
ú Eating
17 Chaykhuneh Baharestan .....................C3
18 Delta Sofrakhane Sonati......................A4
19 Kaghazi Pizza-Coffee ...........................A4
20 Kaktus ....................................................B4
þ Shopping
21 Pottery Shops ....................................... B1
ï Information
22 Ali Sadr Travel Agency.........................B4
ï Transport
Asre Iran....................................... (see 10)
Iran Alvand...................................(see 24)
Iran Peyma................................... (see 16)
Seiro Safar................................... (see 16)
23 Shuttle Taxis to Ganjnameh................B3
24 Shuttle Taxis to the Bus &
Minibus Terminals .............................B2
(Avicenna) Mausoleum but architecturally
less successful is this heavily buttressed
mausoleum. It looks like a failed prototype
for Thunderbird 3. There’s little reason to
go inside unless you enjoy Persian calligra-
phy, inscribed here on some gently opales-
cent stone wall-slabs.
Alaviyan Dome MAUSOLEUM
(Gonbad-e Alaviyan; Shahdad Lane; admission
US$1; h8am-7pm) The name is now a mis-
nomer, as the 12th-century green dome,
immortalised in a Khaqani reference, has
1 57
long since been removed. The dome-less
brick tower remains famous for the whirling
floral stucco added in the Ilkhanid era; this
ornamentation enraptured Robert Byron in
Road to Oxiana. In the crypt (narrow steps
down from the interior at the back) is the
plain-blue tiled Alaviyan family tomb cov-
ered with votive Islamic embroidery.
A useful landmark is the golden dome of
the unfinished Imamzadeh-ye Abdollah
(Imamzadeh Sq).
Hegmataneh Hill
WESTERN IR AN H
‫ﺗﭙﻪ ﻫﮕﻤﺘﺎﻧﻪ‬ ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(%822 4005; admission US$1; h8am-4pm Tue-
Sun, 8am-noon Mon) In the mud beneath this
scraggy low hill lies Hamadan’s ancient
Median and Achaemenid city site. Small
sections of the total area have been fitfully
excavated by several teams over the last
S IAGMHATDA
century, most extensively in the 1990s. The
most interesting of several shed-covered
S N
‘trenches’ allows you to walk above the ex-
cavations of earthen walls using plank walk-
ways on wobbly scaffolding. The walls’ gold
and silver coatings are long gone of course
and it’s hard to envisage the lumpy rem-
nants as having once constituted one of the
world’s great cities. A nicely presented mu-
seum tries to fill the mental gap, showing
some of the archaeological finds including
large amphorae, Seljuk fountains, Achae-
menid pillar-bases and Parthian coffins.
A few decades ago when the government
relocated inhabitants from the hill and de-
molished their homes in the name of ar-
chaeology, they spared a pair of 19th-century
churches, which remain at the southern
edge of the site.
Other Buildings HISTORIC BUILDINGS
More appealing than Imamzadeh-ye Ab-
dollah is the 1883 Imamzadeh-ye Hos-
sein, tucked behind Hotel Yass in a little
courtyard with an ancient mulberry tree.
The 13th-century Borj-e Qorban is a clas-
sic 12-sided, pointy-roofed tower tomb,
but it looks sadly out of place in its dowdy
housing-estate setting.
A vaulted passage of the bazaar leads
into the courtyard of the large Qajar-era
Masjed-e Jameh (Jameh Mosque; admission
free). The off-line south iwan leads into
a hall (currently under restoration) over
which there’s an impressively large brick
dome. The north iwan is lavished with pat-
terned blue tilework that continues on four
158
of the mosque’s six minarets. Some areas are
restricted to men only.
Sang-e Shir is a walrus-sized lump of
rock eroded beyond recognition by the rub-
bing of hands over 2300 years. Supposedly
once a lion, you’d never look twice at were it
not the only surviving ‘monument’ from the
ancient city of Ecbatana whose gates it once
guarded. Local legend attaches all manner
of significance to this strangely unmoving
lump; supposedly put up by Alexander the
Great to commemorate the death of his lover
WESTERN IR AN H
Hephaistion, bizarrely it now has supposed
magic powers to make women pregnant!
4 Sleeping
Arian Hotel HOTEL $$
(%826 1266; www.arianhotelhamadan.com; Takhti
St; s/tw/tr US$54/65/80) At this inviting mid-
S LAEMEAPDA
range hotel, each floor has a different, gen-
tly appealing style of decor with modernist
lamps on the 3rd floor and a more opulent
ING
period look on the 4th. Check out the 2nd
N
floor to see what they consider ‘British style’.
The lobby has a couple of gratuitous Persep-
olis-aping columns. Some English is spoken.
Farshchi Guest House MOSAFERKHANEH $
(Mosaferkhaneh-ye Farsi; Shohada St; tw/tr/q/5-
bed US$6/8/10/13, showers US$1) By mosaf-
erkhaneh standards the Farshchi is a cosy,
friendly place with something of a family
atmosphere, with plastic flowers and samo-
vars giving vague touches of humanity to the
area of shared squat toilets and washbasins.
Most rooms are four-bedded.
Ordibesht Hotel MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%252 2056; Shohada St; s/tw/tr/q without bath-
room US$10/15/18/20) Bright and unusually
airy, this no-nonsense mosaferkhaneh is
compulsively cleaned and Ali speaks some
English. There are separate toilet facilities
for men and women and ‘free showers for
foreigners’. Most rooms are quads (US$15 for
single occupancy).
Buali Hotel HOTEL $$
(%825 0856; Buali St; s/d/tr/ste US$84/99/
135/212; ais) The standard rooms have
fridge, BBC World on TV and floral pseu-
do-silk fabrics, but the bathrooms are very
outdated. The suites are a considerable step
up while the annexe rooms are quiet but a
decorative throwback to the USSR.
Baba Taher Hotel HOTEL $$$
(%422 6517; Baba Taher Sq; s/tw US$99/125;
pa) The mirror-tiled lobby and restaurant
offer a dazzlingly garish festival of Las Ve-
gas kitsch while corridors test out the full
palate of pastel colours. The reasonably
well-appointed rooms are thankfully some-
what more subdued, but barely justify the
discounted price (from US$70) let alone
rack-rates. English spoken.
5 Eating
Apart from Hezaroyek Shab, none of the
following have menus in English. For that
you’ll have to resort to hotel restaurants of
which the BuAli (meals US$4-8) is about the
best.
oDelta Sofrakhane
Sonati TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $$
(%826 1813; basement, Eshqi St; qalyan US$1,
meals US$3-6; h6am-7pm) This delightful
neotraditional retreat lies beneath the un-
remarkable Delta restaurant using separate
stairs from outside. Tea (US$1) comes in ce-
ramic Lalejin pots, women can smoke qaly-
an on carpeted bed-seats without undue
attention and the chicken ‘biriyani’ comes
on a flaming plate. Don’t miss the scrump-
tious kashka bademjan (US$1), eggplant
paste with yoghurt, mint and roasted red
peppers.
Chaykhuneh Baharestan TEAHOUSE $
(Shohada St; dizi US$2; h6am-7pm) This at-
mospheric, if decidedly down-market 100%
male teahouse is charmingly adorned with
metalwork, sepia photos and Quranic mu-
rals. It’s ideal for a greasy fried-egg break-
fast, cheap abgusht (aka dizi) lunch or
a puff on the qalyan, and is populated by
photogenically haggard old white-beards.
To find it, head upstairs through a partly il-
lustrated doorway opposite a small branch
of Bank Maskan.
Kaghazi Pizza-Coffee FAST FOOD $
(Pastor St; snack meals US$2-4, coffee US$1-2)
Pine furniture and a few African masks
bring some character to this gently stylish
two-room cafe whose pizzas are refreshingly
crispy and thin-crusted.
Hezaroyek Shab TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(1001 Nights; %824 5217; Farhang St; local mains
US$2-3.50, European dishes US$4-6; hnoon-3pm
& 7.30-11pm) This cosy if slightly garish res-
taurant is quite a trek south of the centre
(US$2 by dar baste taxi) but there’s a wide
Irano-European menu and owner Pari Ba-
khtiyari speaks fluent English. Call ahead.

Kaktus KABABIS $
(Buali Sina Sq; meals US$4-9; hnoon-3pm &
7-10.30pm) Down easy-to-miss stairs, Kaktus
remains one of Hamadan’s most popular
middle-class kabab restaurants. It’s taste-
fully lit if not imaginatively decorated.
7 Shopping
Hamadan region is famous for its leather-
work, wooden inlay, ceramics and carpets.
Try contacting the Union of Carpet Co-
operatives (%252 8622) if you can’t find
1 59
Hamadan Cultural Heritage Organisation
(Sazemane Jahangardi; % 827 4771; www
.hamedan.ichto.ir, in Farsi; Gagh-e Nazari, Aref
Qazvini St; h8.30am-noon & 2-5pm Sat-Thu,
8-11am Fri) Staff speak minimal English but
merrily load up visitors with beautiful books
and pamphlets as though it were Christmas.
It’s located in a delightful Qajar mansion with
gardens.
Visa Extensions
Passport Office (Edareh Gozannameh; % 826
2025; 1st fl, Khaje Rashid Blvd; h8.30am-
2.30pm Sat-Thu) The austere concrete building

what you want in the rather tatty carpet ba-
zaar. Several pottery shops (Baba Taher Sq)
sell colourful, locally famous pottery from
Lalejin.
WESTERN IR AN H
looks forbidding behind high green railings and
guarded by armed soldiers. But friendly staff
assured us that applications for visa extensions
are now granted routinely.

8 Information 8 Getting There & Away

Internet access Air

SH
Coffeenet Rozhan (Takhti St; per hr US$1;

AO
Kish Air flies to Tehran (US$22, twice weekly).

MPAPDA
h9am-2pm & 4-9pm) Handy for the Arian
Tickets are sold by Ali Sadr Travel Agency.
Hotel.

Sib Coffeenet (Khaje Rashid Blvd; per hr US$1;
h9am-10pm) Good connection. Three other
coffeenets are within a block.
Post
Main Post Office (off Buali St)
Sub Post Office (Khaje Rashid Blvd)
Telephone
Telephone office (Mahdiyeh St) Take a shuttle
taxi down Shari’ati St.
Tourist Information
Ali Sadr Travel Agency (% 828 2011; Khaje
Rashid Blvd; h9am-1pm & 4-7.30pm Sat-Thu,
10am-noon Fri) Although a commercial agency,
the English-speaking staff are super-friendly
and happy to answer general questions.
I NNG
Bus
All long-distance bus services start from the
Tehran terminal (Enqelab Blvd), but most com-
panies have city-centre ticket offices (h7am-
noon & 3-7pm) near Imam Khomeini Sq. Seiro
Safar (%252 2860) and Iran Peyma (%252
1213; h7am-noon & 2-7pm) are either side of
the Ordibesht Hotel. Asre Iran (%252 5376)
and Iran Alvand (%252 5763) face each other
across Ekbatan St.
Useful bus departures are shown in the table
below:
Tehran buses take either the expressway via
Takestan or the more direct road via Saveh,
but few go via Qazvin. Expect delays after fresh
snow.

BUSES FROM HAMADAN

DESTINATION FARE DURATION DEPARTURES & COMPANY

Ahvaz US$18 11hr 6-7pm Seiro Safar, Asre Iran
Esfahan US$16 8hr 8am, 10.30am, 9pm, 10pm Iran Alvand
Mashhad US$25 21hr 9.30am Asre Iran
Orumiyeh US$10 9hr 1.30pm Iran Peyma
Qazvin US$8 3½hr 2.30pm Seiro Safar
Rasht US$6 6hr 9.15am Iran Peyma
Tehran US$10 6hr 7-10.30am, 2-4pm & 11.30pm
Zanjan US$6 4hr 3.30pm Taavoni 5
160
Minibus & Savari
There are two minibus terminals. Use the Main
Minibus Terminal (Zaman-e Hamadani Blvd),
northeast of the centre, for Kermanshah,
Sanandaj (maybe changing in Qorveh), Bijar (at
11am and noon via Qorveh) and Ali Sadr (several
daily). Use Terminal Qadim (Ekbatan St) for
hourly minibuses to Tuyserkan, more frequent
services to Malayer (and thence Nahavand
or Borujerd and on to Khorramabad), and to
Asadabad (for Kangavar). Savaris to Malayer
wait outside.
Savaris to Kermanshah (US$4), Sanandaj
WESTERN IR AN A
very, very good king. To emphasise the point
the message is repeated in three languages
(Old Persian, Elamite and neo-Babylonian)
on rock faces some 2m high. A second panel
similarly commemorates his dad, Darius.
The site is in a rural mountain valley at
Hamadan’s westernmost extremity, some
8km from the centre. From the parking
area, the carvings are a very obvious two-
minute stroll passing a row of tatty tea-
houses, souvenir stalls and snack bars. Just
beyond is a 9m-high waterfall that becomes

(US$4) and Tehran (US$13) leave from relevant
points near Sepah Sq. The Tehran savaris are
well-organised with a sign-up booth (%423
8669).
8 Getting Around
Shuttle taxis run along the spokes of Hamadan’s
8 R O U N D H A M A DA N
a popular ice-climbing spot when frozen in
winter. At weekends the site can get crowd-
ed and messy with rubbish but several long-
distance paths lead directly up the peaceful
fore-slopes of Mt Alvand making for rela-
tively convenient yet bracing hikes.
A narrow lane continues 4km to the Ta-

cartographic wheel for US$0.50 (one block),
US$1 (longer hop) or US$1.50 (dar baste). Shut-
tle taxis to the bus and minibus terminals leave
from Ekbatan St.
Around Hamadan
GANJNAMEH ‫ﮔﻨﺞ ﻧﺎﻣﻪ‬
ELEV 2170M
Literally translated as ‘Treasure Book’, Gan-
jnameh is so named because for years its cu-
neiform rock carvings were thought to be
cryptic clues to help find caches of mythical
Median treasure. Belatedly translated, the
texts turn out instead to be a rather immod-
est thank you to the Zoroastrian god Ahura
Mazda from the Achaemenid monarch Xerx-
es (r 486–466 BC) for making him such a
rik Dare ski slopes (hThu & Fri winter) and in
summer a road winds on very attractively
right across Mt Alvand’s lower slopes to Os-
htoran near Tuyserkan).
8 Getting There & Away
Shared taxis (US$1) take about 20 minutes
departing from Shari’ati St near the Esther
and Mordecai Tomb. They’re fairly frequent at
weekends, but midweek you’ll probably have to
charter (from US$4 each way). Finding a ride
back can take a while.
Dorud & Lake Gahar ‫ﺩﻭﺭﻭﺩ‬
% 0665 / POP 103,000 / ELEV 1448M
Dominated by a huge, satanic cement fac-
tory, Dorud is useful as a launching point
for hiking to beautiful, mountain-ringed

THE LORS OF LORESTAN

Call them Lurish, Lori or Lor, these proud people (around 2% of Iran’s population) are
best known to Westerners for the magnificent bronze-crafts of their hazily documented
Kassite forebears. Around 1800 BC, these polytheistic horse-breeding warriors were
pushing forward the boundaries of metallurgical technology, casting exquisite bronzes
whose fine decoration belies their often mundane purposes.
The Lurish golden age was destroyed by centuries of medieval wars that wiped
out virtually all settled agriculture. Lorestan lapsed into lawless nomadic ‘backward-
ness’ such that the Lors, like many Kurds, remained predominantly semi-independent
nomads until well into the 20th century. In 1931 the valiant Freya Stark considered
Lorestan to be the ‘wastes of civilisation’ as she risked brigands, bandits and police ire
seeking ancient gravesites from which to procure Lurish bronzes. Today admiring such
bronzes is much easier thanks to Khorramabad’s unmissable eight-towered fortress
called Falak-ol-Aflak, or Tehran’s National Museum of Iran (p41) and Reza Abbasi
Museum (p48).
The Lori language is a dialect based on Old Persian with additions from Arabic and
modern Farsi. A handy greeting is damaqechaqı (are you well?); ‘delicious’ is tomdara.

Lake Gahar, famed for its succulent qizil
arla fish. The trailhead is Haft Cheshmeh,
a lonely refuge hut, car park and drinking-
water spring 23km from Dorud. In midsum-
mer guides and ponies are usually available
here. The trek skirts 4070m Mt Oshturan
taking around four hours out, less back.
Bring your own food and tent. Even if you
don’t hike, great views justify the car jour-
ney as far as Darb-e-Astaneh, a mud-
house village 18km from Dorud.
Very friendly but easy-to-miss, the basic
Mosaferkhaneh-e Baharestan (%422-
2919; Shari’ati St; s US$8) is upstairs opposite
Dorud’s cinema.
The porticoed Mehmansara Shahrdari
(%422 0020; Beheshti Blvd; tw/tr US$18/27, sum-
mer US$25/35) has spacious, very comforta-
ble rooms and a decent restaurant featuring
great photos of local beauty spots. It’s in a
park off Dorud’s main through-street 1.5km
west of the train station, and 2.5km east
of the bus terminal where minibuses and
scorchingly fast savaris run to Khorramabad
and Borujerd. Esfahan-bound buses pick up
passengers around midnight from Taavoni
offices on Beheshti Blvd. Incoming trains are
met at the station by savaris for both Khor-
ramabad and Borujerd.
The Dorud-Andimeshk
Railway
This super-scenic railway trundles through
beautiful, remote and virtually roadless val-
leys skirting Lorestan’s pointy peaks and
passing through dozens of tunnels. Most
trains run in the evenings but there’s a day
service departing Andimeshk at 5.30am, re-
turning from Dorud at 2pm. It’s timetabled
to take 5¼ hours but often takes nearer sev-
en. Often overcrowded to the point of sheer
mayhem, the journey is a cultural experi-
ence but also a test of endurance.
BISHEH WATERFALLS ‫ﺁﺑﺸﺎﺭ ﺑﻴﺸﻪ‬
The tiny village of Bisheh (Bishehpuran)
hides one of Iran’s prettiest waterfalls. It
cascades in 30m chutes off a tree-topped
gully then trickles in rivulets into the river
below. In summer many local tourists make
the scenic day trip from Dorud (train only
at 2pm, 30 minutes) or Khorramabad (new
road, no public transport). By autumn only
their litter remains and you’ll have the vil-
lage to yourself, with the entire population
of children following you Pied Piper–style.
16 1
The best waterfall views are from across the
river using a new footbridge at the northern
edge of the village. The day train offers fabu-
lous glimpses of ziggurat-shaped Mt Parvis
en route. You’ll have an ample (if trains are
on time) 4½ hours in Bisheh before the 7pm
Tehran-bound train arrives to take you back
to Dorud.
SEPID DASHT ‫ﺳﭙﻴﺪ ﺩﺷﺖ‬
The railway does a switchback at Sepid
Dasht, the biggest village en route. Sepid
Dasht itself isn’t architecturally attractive
WESTERN IR AN T
but its mountain backdrop is spectacularly
spiky. Rare savaris bump their way to Khor-
ramabad on a scenic road that passes close
to the Gerit Falls.
TALEZANG ‫ﺗﻠﻪ ﺯﻧﮓ‬
Of anywhere along the line, isolated Tale-
8 H E D O R U D -A N D I M E S H K R A I LWAY
zang is the most tempting hop-off point for
trekking into the mountain wilderness. This
place is three hours north of Andimeshk.
One hiking challenge is to make for Shevi
Waterfall, which emerges directly as a
spring from a cliff then falls around 100m in
a wide sweep. The Shevi Waterfall is report-
edly around five hours walk from Talezang
with some climbing involved. You can camp
here: bring food and tent.
Andimeshk ‫ﺍﻧﺪﻳﻤﺸﻚ‬
% 0642 / POP 174,000 / ELEV 147M
Flat, uninteresting Andimeshk has useful
transport connections to Shush, Dezful and
Shushtar. You’ll need to sleep here if taking
the scenic day-train to Dorud. Hotel Rostan
(%424 1818; Imam St; s/tw/tr US$15/18/22) is
handily central between Sa’at and Beheshti
Sqs. Rooms have good bathrooms but the
curiously patchy decor gives the impression
that ambitious redecoration works stopped
in mid-flow. Don’t assume that the air-con
actually works.
Just east of Azadegan Sq, the relatively
upmarket Hotel Bozorg Andimeshk
(Andimeshk Grand; %422 2100; Southern Bypass;
s/d US$64/91; pa) is out of the centre but
handy for the zoo-funfair and bus termi-
nal. Rooms with balconies and decently
equipped bathrooms are in a reasonable
state of repair but seem vastly overpriced.
Many snack bars and small restaurants
surround Beheshti Sq offering samosas,
falafels, burgers, kababs and some particu-
larly outstanding dizi.
162
8 Getting There & Away
Bus, Minibus & Savari
Almost any service from Ahvaz can also be
booked ex-Andimeshk at the new main bus ter-
minal (Azadegan Sq), 1.5km south of Beheshti
Sq on the southern ring road. Iran Peyma runs
to Esfahan at 7.45am (US$5), 10am (US$4) and
8pm (US$8, Volvo). They also have overnight
Volvos to Tabriz (US$10, 2.30pm) and Shiraz
(US$10, 4pm).
Savaris to Dezful (US$0.50, 15 minutes) leave
frequently from Sa’at Sq. Savaris for Ahvaz
depart from Beheshti Sq. Minibuses for Shush
WESTERN IR AN S
(US$0.50, 45 minutes) use a hidden yard off a
lane directly west of Beheshti Sq.
For Khorramabad, minibuses (US$1, 4½
hours) and more frequent savaris (US$4, 3¾
hours) depart from Enqelab St around 2km north
of the centre. They travel via Pol-e-Dokhtar
(Virgin Bridge) a town that’s named for a 3rd-
8HUSH
century brick bridge (renovated up until the 10th
century) of which only a single chunky brick arch
remains, straddling the main road in a canyon
further north.
Train
The train station (Taleqani St) is handily cen-
tral, one short block west of Sa’at Sq (two blocks
north then one west from Beheshti Sq). Arrive
way before the 5.30am departure if you want
a seat on the brilliantly scenic but appallingly
overcrowded day train to Dorud via Bisheh (see
p135). A 9pm train originating in Andimeshk
runs overnight to Tehran (14 hours).
Shush ‫ﺷﻮﺵ‬
% 0642 / POP 44,000 / ELEV 72M
Shush (Susa) was once among the greatest
cities of ancient Persia. Now it’s a pleasantly
small, relatively new town with a vast ar-
chaeological site, splendid castle, enigmatic
Tomb of Daniel and bustling market.
Across the square from Hotel Nazr is
Paradise Coffeenet (%522 0780; Haft-e Tir
Sq; internet per hr US$1; h10am-midnight).
History
An important Elamite city from about the
middle of the 3rd millennium BC, Susa was
burnt by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal
around 640 BC, but regained prominence in
521 BC when Darius I set it up as the Ach-
aemenids’ fortified winter capital. At that
time it was probably similar in grandeur to
Persepolis.
The palace survived the city’s fall to Alex-
ander the Great in 331 BC, and indeed Alex-
ander married one of Darius III’s daughters
here. Still prosperous in the Seleucid and
Parthian eras, Susa re-emerged as a Sassa-
nian capital. During Shapur II’s long reign
(AD 310–379) it regained renown as a Jew-
ish pilgrimage site and became a centre of
Nestorian Christian study. Evacuated in the
face of Mongol raids, Shush disappeared
into the sands of time, only re-emerging
after 1852 when British archaeologist WK
Loftus became the first to survey the site.
His work was continued by the French Ar-
chaeological Service from 1891 more or less
continuously until the Islamic Revolution
of 1979.
1 Sights
Ancient Shush ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(admission US$1; h8am-7pm, closes after heavy
rain) Entered from YaZahra Sq on Khomeini
Blvd, the archaeological site occupies the
whole southern flank of modern Shush. To
the right as you enter, the landscape is en-
tirely dominated by the, sadly closed to the
public, Chateau de Morgan. On the site of
an Elamite acropolis, this crenellated mas-
terpiece looks like an Omani desert fortress
but was in fact built by the French Archaeo-
logical Service between 1897 and 1912 to
defend researchers from raids by local Arab
and Lurish tribesmen. Notice a cuneiform-
inscribed brick incorporated into the castle’s
west doorway.
Turning left at the top of the site’s main
entry ramp, you can walk through the site
of the 521 BC Palace of Darius. The site is
now just a muddy rise on which a 30cm-
high labyrinth of brick-and-wattle wall
fragments marks the former room layout.
At the northern rim are the massive stone
bases of what was once an apadana, of
six by six 22m-high columns topped with
animal figures. A couple of double-horse
capitals are partly preserved on the paved
terrace.
To the east, beyond the partly paved Royal
Gate, the Royal City is a misleading name
for barren, lonely undulations stretching to
the far horizon. It’s more sensible to loop
back towards the castle amid muddy gullies,
pottery shards and thorn thickets alive with
darting desert foxes. At the western side of
the castle there’s an earthen watchtower
above ancient caves and niches.
Shush Museum MUSEUM
(Susa Park, Khomeini St; admission US$1;
h7.30am-1pm & 3.30-7pm Tue-Sun) Some tour-
ists visit this bright new museum quite by

mistake, thinking that they’ve actually en-
tered the archaeological site (whose access
track is right beside it). The museum’s five
rooms display ancient stone- and pottery-
work from archaeological sites in the re-
gion. Highlights include a giant bull-head
capital from Shush’s apadana, a lion-
hugging Hercules statue from Masjid-i So-
leiman and some spooky clay masks from
Haft Tappeh.
Tomb of Daniel IMAMZADEH
(Aramgah-e Danyal) As in a typical imamza-
deh, Muslim pilgrims crowd the glittery
interior of the Tomb of Daniel, kissing the
zarih grate around a green-draped grave
slab. Here this behaviour is particularly
intriguing given that Daniel has at best
tangential relevance to Islam. In fact, he’s a
semi-mythical Jewish figure who supposed-
ly served as a faithful satarap (administra-
tor) to Darius I (r 522–486 BC). Dubiously
recorded in the Bible as having ‘tender love
with the prince of the eunuchs’ (Daniel 1,
9) he is best remembered for unenviable
ordeals in lions’ dens. These exploits were
already over 300 years old when recorded
in the Old Testament (Daniel 6, 16-23).
Whatever the real provenance of the
Daniel relics, they brought Shush an ex-
tremely lucrative flow of Jewish pilgrims
from across the Middle East. Great wealth
accrued to the townsfolk living nearby, but
those living across the river were missing
out on the bonanza and wanted a share of
the pilgrims’ shekels. A compromise was
arranged whereby Daniel’s bones would
spend alternate years on either riverbank,
bringing prosperity to both communities.
In the 12th century, travellers reported that
an even more fanciful arrangement had left
the holy remains dangling in a crystal coffin
suspended from a metal bridge across the
middle of the river.
What happened to them during the Mon-
gol destruction is not recorded, but the
present structure with its distinctive, pine-
cone faceted spire, so typical of Khuzestan
tombs, was only built in 1871.
The tomb complex is easy to find in the
bazaar area, two blocks from the museum. It
remains open late into the evening.
4 Sleeping & Eating
Apadana Hotel HOTEL $
(%/fax 521 3131; s/tw US$22/33; pa) Comfort-
able and central above a good restaurant,
the Apadana’s rooms are fully equipped,
16 3
though the wallpaper is starting to look a
little tatty and water pressure can be rather
low in the upper rooms. Staff are friendly
and some speak English.
Hotel Nazr HOTEL $
(%522 9611; Haft-e Tir Sq; tw/q US$25/30; a)
Rooms have good bathrooms and are newer
than the Apadana’s, but the place lacks any
atmosphere and is about 1km further from
the historical sites. From the minibus yards,
walk 300m up Shari’ati St. Prices are hazily
defined so it’s worth bargaining.
WESTERN IR AN C
Plenty of snack bars and kababis are scat-
tered near the museum and Haft-e Tir Sq.
8 Getting There & Away
Long-distance buses en route to Ahvaz can often
S LHEOEQA
be persuaded to drop passengers off on the main
highway, 2km east of town. Shuttle taxis head
from this point into the centre, but not necessar-
P I NZGA N
ily at 2am when many southbound buses go by.
Heading out of Shush, you’ll usually need to go
& BEI AT
first to Andimeshk or Ahvaz.
Minibuses to Ahvaz depart frequently from
L &I NHGA F T TA P P E H
Khomeini Blvd, 800m northeast of the archaeo-
logical site. For Andimeshk (US$1, 38km) and
Dezful they use small, separate yards across the
road. The Apadana Hotel can arrange sensibly
priced agency taxis for Choqa Zanbil (US$10
return) and Shushtar.
Choqa Zanbil
& Haft Tappeh
HAFT TAPPEH ‫ﻫﻔﺖ ﺗﭙﻪ‬
ELEV 76M
Muddy Elamite-era mounds pimple this
otherwise-flat oasis area. Several are
thought to have been small ziggurats dat-
ing from around 1400 BC. However, none
are mind-blowingly exciting, but recent
archaeological work has rendered them
a little more interesting. Beside the site,
a Unesco-sponsored museum (admission
US$1; h8am-5pm Sat-Thu) is beautifully set
amid bougainvillaea and soaring palms. It
displays archaeological finds including a
curious black sarcophagus. Photo-rich ex-
planations detail the excavation, restoration
and partial reconstruction of Choqa Zanbil
(25km away).
The Haft Tappeh site is 3km off the
Ahvaz-Andimeshk highway. Beyond the
museum, after crossing the train tracks
there’s a 1km unpaved short cut south to
the Choqa Zanbil road.
16 4
CHOQA ZANBIL ‫ﭼﻐﺎﺯﻧﺒﻴﻞ‬
ELEV 81M
(admission US$1; h7am-6pm, guarded 24hr) One
of Iran’s Unesco World Heritage sites, Choqa
Zanbil’s magnificent brick ziggurat is the
best surviving example of Elamite archi-
tecture anywhere. Even if you’re not a fan
of ancient ruins, the great bulk and splen-
did semi-desert isolation of Choqa Zanbil
can’t fail to impress. Although close access
is prevented after 6pm, the ziggurat argu-
ably looks most appealing after dusk when
the golden floodlighting emphasises the
WESTERN IR AN S
structure’s form better than the hazy desert
daylight.
History
The ancient inhabitants of proto-Iran at-
tached great religious importance to moun-
tains. Where they had no mountains, they
8 H U S H TA R
made their own. This was the origin of dis-
tinctive pyramidal, tiered temples known as
ziggurats. Choqa Zanbil’s ziggurat was the
raison d’être of the town of Dur Untash,
founded by King Untash Gal in the mid-
13th century BC. Dur Untash bloomed espe-
cially in the early 12th century BC when it
had a large number of temples and priests.
The town was eventually sacked by Ashur-
banipal around 640 BC and, incredibly, re-
mained ‘lost’ for more than 2500 years. It
was accidentally rediscovered during a 1935
aerial survey by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Com-
pany, the forerunner of BP.
The Ziggurat
The ziggurat was dedicated to Inshushinak,
the chief god of the Elamite pantheon and
patron of Shush. In those days the area
was fertile and forested, and the ziggurat
was built on a slightly raised base to guard
against flooding. It has a square plan with
sides measuring 105m. The original five sto-
reys were erected vertically from the foun-
dation level as a series of concentric towers,
not one on top of another as was the custom
in neighbouring Mesopotamia. At the sum-
mit (now lost) was a temple accessible only
to the highest elite of Elamite society. Even
now the taboo remains and you’re not al-
lowed to climb the remnant stairways that
rise on each of the four sides.
The structure is made of red bricks so
well-preserved that an observer could be-
lieve they’re brand new. However, if you
look very closely, a brick-wide strip at
around eye-level is intricately inscribed in
cuneiform, the world’s spiky first alphabet
that looks like a spilt box of tin-tacks. The
inscriptions are not easy to make out unless
you cross the rope cordon. Permission to do
so is the only apparent advantage of tipping
the ‘guide’. He speaks not a word of English,
but gesticulates with gruesome clarity as to
the purpose of the sacrifice stones (half-
way along the northwest side). Easy to spot
is an ancient sun dial (facing the southwest
central stairway) and, beside it, a strangely
moving footprint of an Elamite child, acci-
dentally preserved for three millennia.
Around the Ziggurat
The ziggurat was surrounded by a paved
courtyard protected by a wall. At the foot
of the northeastern steps would once have
been the Gate of Untash Gal, two rows of
seven columns where supplicants would
seek the pleasure of the king. Around the
wall was originally a complex of tomb
chambers, tunnels and qanat channels.
Once the site’s climate became drier, qanats
brought water an incredible 45km from an-
cient rivers. Vestiges are still visible. Outside
were the living quarters of the town and 11
temples dedicated to various Elamite gods
and goddesses. Little of this remains.
Walk a couple of minutes east of the main
asphalt access road towards an isolated
lamppost to find some more, excavated
Elamite royal tombs. There’s little to see
here, either, though steep ancient steps lead
down into (unlabelled) tomb number five.
Descending is unwise as the pit stinks of toi-
letry misdemeanours…especially bad when
the temperature hits 45°C. Nonetheless, it’s
still worth strolling up the slight rise nearby
to look back at the ziggurat from a particu-
larly photogenic angle.
8 Getting There & Away
There’s no public transport. An ideal way to visit
both sites is as side trips on a taxi-charter from
Shush to Shushtar (US$14). Visit Haft Tappeh
first, as its museum is a good primer for Choqa
Zanbil. In reverse you’d find Haft Tappeh’s lumpy
ziggurats somewhat of an anticlimax. Add US$16
per hour waiting time.
Shushtar ‫ﺷﻮﺷﺘﺮ‬
% 0612 / POP 66,000 / ELEV 65M
The deeply historic city of Shushtar lies stra-
tegically where the last contoured red ridges
of the expiring Zagros Mountains fade into
the endless flat watermelon fields of south-
ern Khuzestan. Beneath the initially unex-
 16 5

THE ROMAN CONNECTION

Some of Shushtar’s then state-of-the-art irrigation systems, now designated as a
Unesco World Heritage Site, were built using Roman technology and labour: legion-
naires defeated at the AD 259 battle of Edessa (today’s Şanlıurfa in Turkey). Their leader,
vanquished Valerian, became the only Roman Emperor ever to be captured alive.
Sassanian king Shahpur I was so proud of his victory over the Romans that he re-
corded the event with boastful carved reliefs at Naqsh-e Rostam (p201) and Bishapur
(p203). Stories vary as to Valerian’s fate, but Shushtaris insist that he was imprisoned
in Qal’eh Salosel (p139). In some versions he was systematically insulted then brutally
killed by being forced-fed a ‘soup’ of molten gold.

WESTERN IR AN S H
citing surface of today’s low-rise cityscape, hind: follow signs to the attractively reno-
there’s lots to discover including a complex vated Marashi House (%622 3484; Abdullah
of artificial ancient ‘watermills’ and no less Banu St; admission free; h8am-9pm, variable).
than 14 imamzadehs. The town centre is
17 Shahrivar Sq marked by Bank Melli (no Pol-e Shandravan ‫ﭘﻞ ﺷﺎﻧﺪﺭﻭﺍﻥ‬ ARCHITECTURE

money exchange). About 400m west of the bus terminal are

substantial ruined sections of this partly

The very fast-connection Persian Cof-
feenet (17 Shahrivar Sq; per hr US$1; h8am-
11pm) is across the square on the 2nd floor of
a building that looks like a pair of mini glass
Empire State Buildings.
In an alley behind the Shandravan
Bridge, the delightful little Mostofi House
(admission free; %8am-2pm) hosts a small
tourist information office (%622 0850;
www.shushtarchtb.ir) where you can get useful
brochures and maps. While here peruse a
small museum in their shabestun (a below-
ground sitting room typical of traditional
Khuzestani houses) and enjoy river views
from the palm-tree courtyard.
1 Sights
Watermills ARCHITECTURE
(Abshari Sika; Shari’ati St; admission US$1; h8am-
10pm). Shushtar’s raison d’être for millennia
was controlling the irrigation of the Khuz-
estan plains, and the town’s most famous
attraction is a set of ancient watermills.
Actually, these aren’t buildings at all but
a powerful arc of cascading water chutes
that are strangely mesmerising, especially
when floodlit at night. They’re especially
impressive considering that the water is fed
through ancient man-made feeder tunnels.
One mill has been reconstructed so you can
observe an old paddle-wheel device turning
a millstone. Entrance is down steps beside
an attractive blue-facaded building now
home to souvenir and pickle shops. You can
see the watermills site almost as well by sim-
ply peering over the parapet of the Shari’ati
St bridge (one block south of 17 Shahrivar
Sq), or even better by climbing the hill be-
I GUHSTHSTA R
Sassanid bridge cum weir, also known as
Band-i Qaisar or Valerian’s Bridge. Along
with the Band-e-Mizan weir, this raised
the river level by 2m, providing the waters
necessary for irrigation and mills. Consid-
ered a wonder of the world by 7th-century
invading Arabs, the workers and architects
were Roman captives (see boxed text, p139).
The bridge originally had 45 arches and re-
mained intact, albeit with many a renova-
tion, until around a century ago. According
to some Khuzestani historians, it was then
deliberately dynamited by British agents.
The idea was to break Shushtar’s trade con-
nections, thus encouraging locals to seek
alternative work at the new (British-owned)
oilfields of Masjid-i Soleiman. Less conspira-
torial theories blame rebellions and floods
for the bridge’s deterioration.
Today the Pol-e Shandravan ruins parallel
to a newer Dezful Rd bridge. A park is being
built to landscape the scene.
Qal’eh Salosel
‫ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺳﻼﺳﻞ‬ ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
The historic heart of Shushtar was Salosel
Castle, on a prominent cliff-hill overlook-
ing the river. This is where Shapur I is said
to have imprisoned Roman Emperor Vale-
rian. It’s also here that Persians held out
for two years against the invading Arab-
Muslim armies until secret tunnels were re-
vealed to the attackers by a traitor. For cen-
turies Khuzestan was governed from a pal-
ace (‘Kushk’) on this site and an impressive
three-storey pyramidal building stood here
until the 1920s. Sadly, above-ground, only
a mound of rubble remains. However, the
166
castle’s impressive Sassanian-era subterra-
nean rooms and water channels have been
rediscovered. As yet they are only open on
special occasions such as No Ruz but at
such times they are very imaginatively lit.
The site is one long block north of Shahri-
var Sq then three minutes’ walk to the east.
Imamzadeh Abdullah IMAMZADEH, SHRINE
Visible from the minibus as you arrive from
Ahvaz, this shrine has a white pinecone of a
central tower reminiscent of Daniel’s tomb
in Shush. A gory local tale records a woman
WESTERN IR AN A
beheading her own son to swap his head for
the skull of a long-dead holy man, which is
now enshrined here as a sacred relic. Col-
ourfully decked with strings of lights, the
building resembles a cruise liner against
the evening horizon. At its foot is the small
but impressive 11-arched ancient Lashgar
S LHEVA
Bridge.
E PZI N G & E AT I N G
Other Sights
A short walk south of the bus terminal, the
partly 9th-century Masjid-e Jameh (Jameh
Mosque; Masjid Jameh Lane) has a truncated,
gently leaning minaret and sits in a quiet
tree-filled quadrangle of fruit-sellers.
Just beyond Hotel Jahangardi is a great
viewpoint beside the octagonal Kola
Ferangi tower, which looks like (and prob-
ably was) a stone lighthouse, though lo-
cal lore relates that Shapur’s slave driver
would watch over the Roman prisoners
from here surveying progress on the Band-
e Mizan (Sassanid weir) that divided the
river to provide water for the watermills.
Across the water you’ll see the blue-
domed Seyid Mohammad Golabi Shrine
behind which rises an iwan of the vast
new Sheikh Alome Shushtari Shrine.
Currently in yellow brick, it entombs the
20th-century philosopher Mohammad Taq
Shushtari and should eventually be cov-
ered in fabulous blue tiling, Esfahan style.
About 1km further such tiling already
graces the brilliant and considerably older
Saheb-al Zaman shrine at which awed
devotees have supposedly made sightings
of the Mahdi (last imam), hence the ‘empty
seat’ shrine box.
4 Sleeping & Eating
Mehmanpazir Shushtar MOSAFERKHANEH $
(%622 3288; Sharafat St; s/d/tr US$11/13/16)
Rebuilt in 2006 with reasonably neat tiled
floors, this upstairs place charges what it
feels you’ll pay, apparently irrespective of
whether you get a room with an OK bath-
room or have to share the communal squat
toilet. Mattresses and sheets are clean and
new.
Hotel Jahangardi HOTEL $
(%622 1690; Sarafat St; s/tw/tr US$25/30/35;
pa) Right beside the river you can gaze
across to the mausolea from this wonderful
location that’s peaceful until nocturnal tour-
ists decide to crank up their party music.
The clean, reasonably comfortable rooms
have bathrooms.
Restaurant Abshar TRADITIONAL IRANIAN $
(Shahrivar Sq; meals about US$4; h7.30am-3pm
& 5-10pm). There’s a good selection of eater-
ies around Shahrivar Sq of which this de-
ceptively cavernous place makes a friendly
choice and supplements kababs and
ghorme sabzi (meat and vegetables with
rice) with scrumptious spit-roast chicken
(US$5 for half-bird).
Several shops sell Shushtar’s famous pickles
and preserved fruits. Local koluche (soft-
centred biscuits with a hint of caraway) taste
best when stuffed with dates.
8 Getting There & Away
Shushtar’s single, handily central bus terminal
is a block north and west from Shahriyar Sq,
between Almas and Sheikh Sts. Very regular
buses run to Ahvaz (US$1, 1½ hours) and Dezful
(US$0.50, one hour), where you can transfer for
Shush or Andimeshk. There’s no public trans-
port to Shush (90km), but a good asphalt road
exists passing within 5km of Choqa Zanbil and
emerging near Haft Tappeh.
Ahvaz ‫ﺍﻫﻮﺍﺯ‬
% 0611 / POP 1 MILLION / ELEV 20M
Abu Nuwas (‘Father of Curls’) is perhaps
the only Muslim poet celebrated for writing
homoerotic drinking songs. He was born in
AD 756 in Ahvaz, but got out as soon as he
could. You’ll probably want to do the same.
But hopefully not (as Abu was) sold as a sex
slave to a Yemeni drug dealer.
Using the well-served airport is the only
likely reason you’d choose to transit this
vast, featureless, industrial city where sum-
mer temperatures regularly top 50°C. Ac-
ceptable central accommodation options
include the quiet if basic Mehmanpazir
Parknow (%222 2534; Imam Khomeini St, pedes-
trianised section; s/d US$8/14) and the assidu-

ously cleaned Iran Hotel (%221 7200; fax 221
7206; Shari’ati St; s/tw US$25/35; a). Before a
flight, congenial modern rooms at the pro-
fessionally run Oxim Hotel (%447 4720;
7200; MiS Highway; s/tw/d US$64/91/91; pai)
are a sensible choice, being just 2km from
the airport.
8 Getting There & Away
Helpful Tayareh Travel Agency (%222 9849;
tayareh_travelagency@yahoo.com; Azadegan
St; h8am-1pm & 5-9pm Sat-Thu) with English-
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 16 7
Shiraz (US$32, twice weekly), Kuwait (one way/
return US$70/110, weekly) and Dubai (one way/
return US$85/130, four weekly).
You can get to Shush (US$1, two hours) and
virtually anywhere else in Iran from the big main
bus terminal (Andimeshk Rd), 5km west of cen-
tre up Enqelab St. Andimeshk savaris/minibuses
(US$2/1) depart from a hidden yard 200m fur-
ther north. Dezful buses (US$1, 1¾ hours) use a
different yard 100m to the southeast of the main
terminal across Enqelab St.
Buses for Shushtar (US$0.50, 1½ hours) use
Istgah Shushtar (Pasdaran Blvd) way across

WESTERN IR AN A
speaking staff sells air tickets including to Te- town, 4km northeast of centre (halfway to the
hran (US$40, frequent), Esfahan (US$35, daily), airport). Call %447 2020 for a taxi.

8 H VA Z

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